Sam Smith’s weight has been a topic of discussion for many years. The famous singer has been up and down. He has struggled with obesity for most of his adult life. And that extra weight has been challenging for him. Ever since his childhood, Smith has been a victim of body shaming. That made him have liposuction as a teenager. Today, we will talk all about Sam Smith’s weight gain, and how he prevailed.
Despite having a successful music career, British singer Sam Smith has constantly struggled with his body image. He is a member of the queer community, but that makes it even harder for him to deal with body shaming.
According to Smith, the queer community gets offended even more when people make fun of their bodies than their sexuality.
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Get to Know Sam
Before discussing his struggles with obesity and weight, we have to talk about his life. Born Samuel Frederick Smith, he is widely known as Sam Smith. Born in May 1992, in London, England, he is a singer and songwriter.
Raised in the small town of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, he was creative as a young child. He lived in a supportive environment and grew up in a musical family.
His father was a stay-at-home dad, while his mother worked as a broker. He has three siblings, two sisters Lily Smith and Mabel Smith, and a brother Benjamin Smith. In the family’s household, music was part of life. They listened to different records that prompted Sam to pursue a music career.
Speaking of his educational background, he attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, where his passion for singing continued to blossom. He actively participated in school musicals and joined the Operatics Society of the school. His parents, recognizing his talent, enrolled him in singing lessons.
As for his professional start, he began as a featured artist on the Disclosure song, Latch. It was released in October 2012 and peaked at No.11 on the UK Singles Chart. He released his first single in February 2013, called Lay Me Down. He was then featured on Naughty Boy’s single, La LaLa. And from there, his career quickly took off.
Here is a fun fact: in one interview, he said he would never have applied to audition for The X Factor, a famous British television show. He performed as a guest but said that being a contestant was not for him.
Smith said, “It was a very conscious decision for me not to audition. It is for people, and it isn’t for people. I feel that X Factor is perfect for singers who sing, and that’s all they want to do. They don’t care what they sing, they just love singing”.
He continued, “You could sing on a cruise ship or release a cover album, that’s what it’s for. Because when you think about it, every week, that’s what you do. You’re singing other people’s songs. People are judging you on other people’s music”.
Smith, on the other hand, wanted the public to listen to him singing his own music. With a remarkable voice, heartfelt songwriting, and a genuine desire to make a positive impact, Smith is one of the best English singers of the last decades.
Struggling With Weight Since Childhood
Smith is part of the queer community and one of the biggest supporters of the LGBTQ+ community. He declares himself as non-binary. In several interviews, he talked about how he struggled with weight as a child and how his insecurities interfered with his passion for music.
During his young age, when he felt stressed or lonely, he would find solace in eating. It made him feel better. But that made him put on weight, and he struggled with self-image when starting his own musical career.
At the age of 12, he got liposuction surgery to remove excess weight.
How Did He Gain Weight?
In 2015, Sam was asked to write, sing, and perform the James Bond theme for the movie Spectre. And his popularity went even higher.
During that period, Smith went to a lot of parties and led a completely unhealthy life. That included late snacks, drinking, and everything in between.
The actor quickly ballooned up, and that was not something he wanted. His body betrayed him, and Smith was reminded of the struggles he had as a child to lose weight and consent to body standards.
Being A Victim Of Body Shaming
People quickly noticed that he gained weight, and they were quick to express their opinions about the Grammy Award-winning singer. Some Twitter users body-shamed Sam and said quite a lot of nasty things about him.
But there were fans who defended him as well, saying, “Yeah, the tweets about Sam Smith have been extremely disgusting. All the man did was gain a lil weight”.
Many would argue it was ignorant of people to body-shame Sam because he put so much effort into losing weight over the course of his life.
In 2019, the singer opened up about his struggles with weight, saying that it was challenging during the Christmas holidays. This was a period he would try different types of foods, and in the long run, gain weight because of it.
Sam Smith’s Battle With Weight Gain
Smith has talked about weight and obesity in many of his interviews. In one, he said, “Literally everything I’ve ever been sad about is my weight. I struggle with it every day”.
He even had liposuction on his chest at age 12, but felt nothing changed. He said, “I think I put the weight back on in two weeks because I haven’t figured out my relationship with food”.
But he soon embraced his figure. Smith even shared a topless photo of himself on Instagram, explaining he is over with chasing a toxic body image.
He said, “In the past, if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture. I decided to fight the f*** back. Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off. If you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn’t think those things.”
Now, the famous British musician has no problem talking about his weight loss journey.
Overcoming Body Dysmorphia
Because of struggles with weight, Smith has struggled with body dysmorphia as well. After revealing his video for I’m Not Here to Make Friends, the British musician opened up about his journey of overcoming the condition.
He said, “I am happier in my own skin on Gloria. I feel liberated, released from the pressure I felt when I was young. My mum says that, as I’ve got older, I’ve stopped caring what people think as much. She tends to be right”.
He also said that the industry negatively affected his self-perception, causing him to have body dysmorphia.
He said, “When I was 25 I came off tour exhausted. I looked to role models in the body world. Every time I went to the pool I felt self-conscious, but I forced myself to take my top off. It paid off because I now have the opposite of body dysmorphia. I look fabulous. I’m finally getting a tan. I’m burnt in places I’ve never been burnt”.
Smith’s acceptance of his weight, despite his weight loss journey, is a great example of body positivity.
