Sam Smith says Lady Gaga helped them discover their gender identity, after they came out as non-binary last year.
The 28-year-old singer revealed last year they are non-binary and go by they/them pronouns, and they have now revealed it was fellow singer and vocal LGBTQ rights activist Lady Gaga that helped them accept themselves.
Speaking in a video for Vogue, they said: "Gaga is probably the reason why I actually came to terms with my gender.
“I was 15 when ‘The Fame’ came out and I was obsessed with Lady Gaga.
“She gave me complete permission to be myself and to be proud of my queerness. It was a form of expression, but it was also weirdly a form of protection.”
Sam - who is also openly gay - said Gaga’s music helped them tell his school bullies to “stay away” from them, because they knew they could be “confident and powerful” in their own body.
The ‘Too Good At Goodbyes’ hitmaker revealed they are non-binary in September last year, when they said they had decided to “embrace” their gender identity after “a lifetime of being at war” with themselves.
They wrote on social media at the time: 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… (sic)”
Elsewhere in the video for Vogue, Sam also discussed how makeup has become a key part of their journey as a non-binary performer.
They said: “It doesn’t matter what gender you are, makeup is a form of expression, and it feels nice. For me, makeup just became more of a way to express my gender.
“Last year, when I changed my pronouns and really spoke out about my gender expression and my gender fluidity, I started falling in love with makeup all over again.”