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Fans are jumping to the defence of Sam Smith after they faced public backlash for their raunchy new music video.
Alongside their new album Gloria, Smith released the video for their single 'I'm Not Here to Make Friends' on Saturday (28 January).
The glamorous extravaganza features the 30-year-old singer arriving at a castle via helicopter before performing alongside scantily clad dancers wearing corsets and suspenders.
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In another scene, dancers are shown writhing around on beds wearing black leather jock straps.
And Smith can also be seen being sprayed with streams of liquid while donning gold nipple covers and a corset.
The clip has been the subject of much controversy since dropping, with many calling for stricter censorship and age restrictions on music videos.
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"It's blatant tacky sexualised bulls**t," wrote one on Twitter. "As a mum of teenagers I'm sick of seeing people using s**t like this to sell their music."
Another said: "I can’t believe kids look up to @samsmith. This s**t should be banned on YouTube."
But among this 'please, think of the children' chat, established figures in various fields have come forward to show their support for the star and suggest the outrage is a result of discrimination.
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As said by Guardian columnist Owen Jones: "Sex has always been a running theme in modern pop music, and music videos often flaunt it.
"But Sam Smith has made the criminal offence of being a) queer and b) not skinny, and in an increasingly anti-LGBTQ culture, that can’t be tolerated."
Barrister and leader in the field of FGM law, Dr Charlotte Proudman, also commented on the backlash, saying the situation would be different had Smith been a white, cisgender female.
"If a straight white cis woman popstar did what Sam Smith did there would be no problem," she wrote. "People just don’t like that Sam is queer, plus sized and unapologetic about it."
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Proudman went on to highlight a number of examples, including Christina Aguilera in 'Dirrty', Miley Cyrus in 'Wrecking Ball' and Madonna in 'Like a Prayer'.
In separate tweets, she said: "Interesting to see that Sam Smith has already received more hate than blurred lines/Robin Thicke ever did...
"Hilarious that the people who are 'outraged' by Sam Smith's video are the same people telling the 'snowflake' generation to toughen up."
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Singer Aidan Moffat added: "There are thousands, if not millions, of far more sexually explicit pop videos than that Sam Smith one. Most of them will feature young girls.
"It must be exhausting being so hateful all the time. And to be so utterly terrified of difference."
Daisy Phillipson