Kim Petras and Sam Smith claimed Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their collaborative No. 1 hit “Unholy” at the 2023 Grammys last night, February 5 — making Petras the first-ever openly transgender woman to win the award. Petras and Smith celebrated by giving a devil-themed, risque performance of “Unholy.”
Not everybody was happy for them. More specifically, Republicans were really upset to see Smith in latex thigh-highs and Petras singing from inside a burning cage.
“This…is…evil,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted.
This…is…evil. https://t.co/SBrOgHfFcX
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 6, 2023
He was joined in his pearl-clutching by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene: “The Grammy’s featured Sam Smith’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer. And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services. American Christians need to get to work.”
The Grammy’s featured Sam Smith’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer.
And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services.
American Christians need to get to work.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene
(@mtgreenee) February 6, 2023
And several other conservative voices chimed in:
I know we on the right probably use the word satanic too often but this peformance from Sam Smith is literally a tribute to Satan. pic.twitter.com/1GrNgjssZN
— Ben Kew
(@ben_kew) February 6, 2023
Sam Smith’s satanic performance at the Grammy’s ended with a Pfizer commercial. You can’t get it more on the nose than that. Pfizer and Hollywood deserve each other. pic.twitter.com/4HhFQemiCi
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) February 6, 2023
Definitely “Unholy”.
#Grammys #SamSmith #KimPetras pic.twitter.com/d5jBMwFsuZ
— Arch Kennedy (@ArchKennedy) February 6, 2023
Diabolical vibes at the #Grammys as it descends into satanic themes with the song “Unholy” performed by a debauched gay man. The WEF overlords at Davos were surely pleased by this disgusting display. pic.twitter.com/lja0LwUinY
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) February 6, 2023
Host Trevor Noah seemingly foresaw the outrage and poked fun at it during the CBS broadcast.
“No, Mom, it wasn’t the actual devil,” Noah said while sitting aside Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck and pretending to be on the phone with his mother after Smith and Petras’ “Unholy” performance. “No, they were just dressed as the devil, Mom. […] Yeah, you did warn me about Hollywood.”
‘No, mom, it wasn’t the actual devil … Yeah, you did warn me about Hollywood’ — Host Trevor Noah pretended to get a phone call from his mom after Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ steamy ‘Unholy’ performance at the #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/z6qBK1i4s7
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 6, 2023
Greene is actually lucky to have her Twitter high horse. She was temporarily locked out of her account in early January after unauthorized use of Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.”