Sam Smith Gets Accused of Performing a Satanic Ritual at the Grammys

Sam Smith has just joined the long line of musicians that have been accused of worshiping the devil thanks to his performance at this year’s Grammys.

The singer-songwriter took to the stage amid music’s biggest night alongside Kim Petras to perform their collaborative hit, “Unholy.” As the title suggests, the performance had demonic undertones with fire lining the stage and Smith donning a devil-horned hat.

Though for many, the production is obviously a nod to the song’s lyrical content (which exaggerates the “sinful” nature of sexual behavior) others have decided to adopt a more literal interpretation. The backlash was anticipated by Madonna who introduced the performance. She said, “Are you ready for a little controversy?”

Madonna’s speech came to pass with many conspiracy theorists and conservative commentators having a discourse about the performance online.

Senator Ted Cruz retweeted several tweets that branded the performance as satanic. “This is… evil,” he added to his retweet of conservative commentator Liz Wheeler’s that read, “Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile, demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.”

Elsewhere blogger Matt Walsh added, “It’s not surprising to see a satanic ritual at the Grammy’s. Satanism is the worship of the self. Much of modern pop music is satanic in this sense. Leftism is satanism. The only change is that now they’re being more explicit about it.”

Music video director turned politician, Robby Starbuck, further claimed that a Pfizer commercial airing after the performance was more than a coincidence.

“Sam Smith’s satanic performance at the Grammy’s ended with a Pfizer commercial,” he wrote. “You can’t get it more on the nose than that. Pfizer and Hollywood deserve each other.”

Despite the backlash, Smith and Petras went on to win Best Pop Duo-Group Performance for the song, making Petras the first transgender woman to win in that category. In her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to the late DJ SOPHIE, Madonna, and her mother.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy