Sam Smith Announces Their New Pronouns In A Powerful Instagram Caption

After coming out as non-binary earlier this year, singer Sam Smith announced their new pronouns on Friday, Sept. 13. Sam Smith's Instagram caption about using they/them pronouns explains that "after a lifetime of being at war" with their gender, they've "decided to embrace" their identity. Alongside an image of the text, "MY PRONOUNS ARE THEY/THEM," the caption reads:

Today is a good day so here goes. I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM ❤ 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 f*ck it! I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you. P.s. I am at no stage just yet to eloquently speak at length about what it means to be non binary but I can’t wait for the day that I am. So for now I just want to be VISIBLE and open. If you have questions and are wondering what this all means I’ll try my best to explain but I have also tagged below the human beings who are fighting the good fight everyday.

Smith tagged Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness, Orange is the New Black's Laverne Cox, and organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community, including Stonewall UK, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Campaign, among others.

They concluded with, "Love you all. I’m scared sh*tless, but feeling super free right now. Be kind x"

Their Instagram bio now simply reads, "They/Them," along with a link to stream their music.

Smith's announcement was met with an outpouring of support from friends, activists, fans, and more. Van Ness, who came out as nonbinary in June and was tagged in Smith's caption, simply commented, "Love love love." Jameela Jamil wrote, "I love you. I’m proud to call you my friend." Katherine Langford added, "Love you ❤️❤️," and Lauren Jauregui left a supportive message that said, "SEEN AND HEARD!!✨💕✨ WE LOVE YOU!" Producer Mark Ronson even suggested collaborating on a song, writing, "Can I get them on a track pls 💔"

This announcement follows a period of time in which the singer has publicly questioned and explored their gender identity. In October 2017, Smith told the Sunday Times, “I don’t know what the title would be, but I feel just as much a woman as I am man." In March 2019, during a conversation with Jamil on Instagram, they announced that they are non-binary and genderqueer, explaining, "When I saw the word non-binary, genderqueer, and I read into it, and I heard these people speaking, I was like, ‘F*ck, that is me.'" They added, "Non-binary/genderqueer is that you do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of all different things. You are your own special creation.” At the time, they noted that they'd use he/him pronouns for the time being.

Congratulations to Smith for having the courage to express themselves authentically.