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13th July 2023
02:03pm BST
Lorraine Kelly has responded, but not apologised, after repeatedly misgendering Sam Smith while discussing the outfit the performer wore to the Barbie premiere on Wednesday night.
Smith, who is non-binary and uses gender-neutral pronouns, turned up at the European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square, London, in an oversized sweatshirt with 16 XL on it, and flared jeans that covered their feet.
The outfit was in reference to the all-inclusive film as the Mattel doll has been heavily criticised since its launch in the 1970s over its unrealistic body proportions.
While hosting her ITV daytime show Lorraine on Thursday, Kelly spoke to guest Vogue Williams about the pink carpet hits and misses from the premiere of Greta Gerwig's film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
While the majority of the guests opted for Barbie-inspired pink outfits, Smith – who has written a song titled 'Man I Am' from the perspective of Ken for the Barbie soundtrack – bucked the trend, and went for a more causal ensemble.
Williams joked that Smith looked like they were dressed for an airport rather than a red carpet event.
But while Williams used the correct pronouns to refer to Smith, Kelly did not. She referred to the artist as “he” and “him”.
Kelly noted: “It’s a bit big for him."
And: “If he was my son, I’d be saying, ‘Son, that’s too big for you’… He’Kelly s going to stand out. He knows what he’s doing, does that fella.”
Kelly now joins the likes of Sir Bob Geldof, Richard Madeley, Ranvir Singh, Noel Gallagher and Katie Hopkins, to misgender the performer.
After being called out on Twitter, Kelly responded saying her mistake was not intentional.
She wrote: “Fair comment. Not in the least intentional but will take on board – thanks for bringing to my attention.”
One commenter wrote on Twitter: “I guess Lorraine didn’t get the memo about Sam Smith and their chosen pronouns, awkward."
Another noted she had misgendered Smith "over and over".
Williams, commenters suggested, looked "visible uncomfortable" and appeared to be emphasising the correct pronouns to help out her co-star.
Another commenter tweeted Kelly: “@lorraine I’m not sure if you are aware but Sam Smith uses the pronouns They/Them.”
Kelly was also accused of "very lazy journalism" for not getting Smith's pronouns right, "come on - seriously!"
In 2019, Smith came out as non-binary and gender-queer, saying that they would be using they/them pronouns going forward.
They said at the time: “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out.
“I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but fuck it!”
The Stay With Me star acknowledged that there will "be many mistakes and misgendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you.”
Speaking about pronouns and misgendering to Zane Lowe last year, Smith said: “I just want to create a safe space for everyone. But also, we’re all learning together.
“The pronoun thing is interesting, because mistakes happen. Even me, I make mistakes quite a lot, and it’s an uncomfortable feeling making a mistake. Editing yourself is great, but I think it’s really good for people to see you mess up … and then correct yourself.”
Observing that “changes in language … take time”, Smith added: “We need to lean into the uncomfortable feeling of being wrong sometimes, because it’s okay… we’re all in it together.”
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