Charli XCX has spoken out against the barrage of online hate received following her upcoming musical partnership with Sam Smith on their soon-to-be-released track, “In the City.”
The UK-based artists recently revealed their collaborative effort via Instagram last week.
“Releasing a track with Sam has been eye-opening, as I’ve never seen such a relentless tide of online abuse targeted at anyone,” said Charli XCX (whose birth name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison) in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday (17 October). “It’s quite disheartening. But on the flip side, I really admire Sam’s resilience in facing this, something I reckon I couldn’t handle.”
Expressing her admiration for Smith, 31, the singer of hits like “Speed Drive” added, “Sam, I love you and I’m stoked about our song.”
The root of the public’s negative attitude toward Smith remains unclear, although it appears to have escalated after they publicly identified as nonbinary in 2019.
Speaking about the criticism they’ve endured since coming out, in a 2020 chat with James Corden, Smith described it as a “battle.” “It’s been incredible but also deeply challenging to face such an enormous amount of backlash. It’s shocking how many people still can’t get their heads around gender nonconformity and transgender issues globally,” said the artist behind “I’m Not the Only One.”
Earlier this year, Smith’s rendition of “Unholy” at the Brit Awards was met with over 100 Ofcom complaints. This followed a previous wave of criticism aimed at a Grammy performance by Smith and Kim Petras, particularly from right-wing figures in the US.
Conspiracy pundits and conservative voices raised eyebrows, suggesting that the performance by the duo was somehow linked to “Satanic rituals.” Tech mogul Elon Musk chimed in as well, tweeting that the performance gave off “end of days vibes.” He later joked, “If that’s what the devil is like, we’re all good.”
“In the City” is set to be released tomorrow night in New Zealand.
