Sam Smith Calls Out Homophobia On Social Media

Sam Smith is standing up for himself and others in the LGBT community. When the "I'm Not The Only One" performer came across a hateful account on social media on Aug. 11, he did not back down from the mean-spirited comments. Sam Smith called out the homophobic Instagram user who was personally attacking him and his sexual orientation.

The username, under the Instagram handle @gaysamsmith, is "We hate f*ggot Smith." The user's profile reads, "there is a f*g, his name is sam. when he’s on, I like to cry. he is gay but that’s okay, we can all make fun of him."

Smith shared a screen shot of the user's profile on his own Instagram page with the caption, "This genuinely doesn't offend me, coz I'm way too [thick] skinned when it comes to this kind of sh*t. BUT I just wanted to share this with everyone, so you can see how homophobia is still SO PRESENT in our society!!"

While the post may not have offended him personally, it is still a good thing that he called out the user for his or her actions. By doing this, he is highlighting that the problem of homophobia is certainly not gone yet from our society.

It is tempting to think that gay rights issues are nearly solved. The Supreme Court recently made the historic decision that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional in all 50 states. The military policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in regard to soldiers' sexual orientations has been repealed. And pop stars like Smith are out and proud and well-loved by fans all over the world. While it is undeniable that progress has been made, we have a long way to go as a society in terms of mainstream acceptance of the LGBT community, and Smith's wake-up call is a sure sign of that.

Smith serves an excellent reminder to his fans that if someone as famous and as well-loved as himself can still be attacked by homophobes, certainly homophobia is still part of our society as a whole. And if Smith is still susceptible to hateful remarks, just imagine the average LGBT person out there and what they must deal with — all without the public platform that Smith has. This is why it's important that Smith speaks up when problems like this arise. And it is worth applauding him for doing so.