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- Sam Smith recalled getting bullied in school about their weight and because they started “growing a chest”
- The singer said they got chest liposuction at 13 years old because of the “crippling” experience
- However, Smith admitted that the surgery was a “nightmare” and “never really worked” because they continued their bad eating habits
Sam Smith is reflecting on their experience going under the knife as a teenager.
During the Wednesday, Nov. 5 episode of the Podcrushed podcast, Smith — who uses they/them pronouns — opened up to host Penn Badgley about their struggles with weight as a child and wanting cosmetic surgery.
“For me, it was always my weight,” Smith, 33, said. “My weight as a kid was the hardest thing for me in school, and weirdly the thing I probably got teased the most about.”
“I had surgery on my chest when I was 13 years old because I had a growing chest,” they continued. “There was all sorts of reasons why, but mainly that I was just getting so teased. I couldn’t go swimming in school, and getting changed in the locker room was hell. So I got liposuction when I was 13 years old.”
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Liposuction is a surgical procedure that involves using a suction technique to remove fat and shape specific areas of the body.
Badgley, 39, asked how Smith’s parents felt about getting the procedure at such a young age.
“They were supportive,” they replied. “They were hugely supportive of the whole thing because they saw how much it was crippling everything about me.”
However, the “Unholy” singer explained that the procedure was a “nightmare” and, in the end, ineffective because they continued the same poor eating habits.
“It was all a struggle with food and stuff, and the liposuction, it worked, but it was also a nightmare,” they admitted. “Because they gave me a bandage which is like a bra … I was only meant to wear it for a month, but if I wore the bandage, it meant that I would get to the front of the lunch queue because everyone had to be sensitive about my chest. So I just kept this bandage on for nearly a year.”
“I’d be like, ‘Ooh, don’t come close to me,’ and I’d get first in the lunch queue, and I’d just eat more and eat more,” the musician said. “So the surgery never really worked because I just love food.”
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Back in 2023, Smith talked to The Sunday Times about finally feeling good in their skin after struggling with their weight while in the public eye. They admitted that it was a long journey before they were able to be comfortable enough to pose topless for their album cover Gloria.
“Within my industry there is definitely that question of, ‘What should a pop star look like?'” they told the outlet, noting that they never fit the “norm.” However, Smith revealed that the turning point with their self-image was after their Thrill of It All tour in 2018.
“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,” they said. “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 shared that they are no longer fazed by any opinions about their size, and they’re using music as an outlet.
“I’m happier in my own skin on Gloria. I feel liberated, released from pressures I felt when I was young,” they said at the time. “My mum says that, as I’ve got older, I’ve stopped caring what people think as much. She tends to be right.”