Megyn Kelly panned Sam Smith’s use of nipple covers during an eyebrow-raising performance at the Grammy Awards, saying the singer’s “devil-themed performance” was “celebrating Satan” and “BDSM themes.”
“First of all, if you are a man you do not need nipple covers,” Kelly said during Monday’s broadcast of the SiriusXM daily podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“What are you doing with nipple covers? Nothing’s coming out of that nipple that you need to cover it whatsoever. Okay? So take them off.” she said.
Smith — who was born a male and identifies as a “gender nonbinary individual” — and Kim Petras took the stage at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, which was held Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The event was broadcast by CBS.
Petras, the 30-year-old German singer-songwriter, identifies as transgender. Born a male, she transitioned to female at the age of 13.
Petras and Smith collaborated on a hit single, “Unholy,” which won the award for best pop/duo group performance at the Grammys on Sunday. It was the first time ever that an openly transgender and nonbinary artist captured the prize.
The duo’s performance of the song ignited controversy for its use of horror themes. Smith was clad in red leather and donned a hat with horns protruding from them — evoking comparisons to the devil.
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Petras was dancing and gyrating from inside a cage while flanked by dominatrices clad in satanic headgear. The stage design complimented the motif as huge flames were shot into the air during the segment.
This did not sit well with Kelly, who said “this devil-themed performance is celebrating Satan, BDMS themes.”
“Halfway through the song, [Smith] added a horn hat to his look,” Kelly said.
She was astonished to see that one of the sponsors of the award show was Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant behind one of the mRNA vaccines used to inoculate people against COVID-19.
“Then of course as if on cue, the whole thing ends and it has the banner ‘sponsored by Pfizer,'” Kelly said, adding: “It’s an amazing troll of the right wing.”
Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies who manufactured vaccines have been criticized on social media, particularly from those who are skeptical of its benefits.
Some have promoted conspiracy theories linking vaccines to premature death and other conditions.
Pfizer confirmed to Newsweek that it was indeed a paid sponsor of the Grammys. The Post has sought comment from Pfizer.
Prominent Republicans and conservatives expressed disgust over the performance. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said it was “evil” while others likened it to “devil worshipping.”
Others, however, said the backlash was simply a product of people’s refusal to accept Smith’s gender lifestyle.
“If Sam Smith were thin, cis, and straight, they wouldn’t be ridiculed for how they present and dress,” one of the performer’s fans wrote on social media.