Viewers will be “turning off in their droves” as Sam Smith steps up to perform at the Proms, according to political commentator Christine Hamilton.
The claim was made during a frosty debate on GB News over the broadcaster’s decision to allow Sam Smith headline a BBC prom.
Corporation executives have promises the pop star’s performance will be “appropriate” after complaints about his sexually explicit shows.
Hamilton clashed with drag queen and ex-Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK contestant Divina De Campo, who thinks Sam Smith suits the occasion.
Divina De Campo accused Hamilton of hypocrisy
GB NEWS
“He’s one of Britain’s biggest exports in the music industry, him being invited to perform at the Proms seems perfectly reasonable to me”, he said.
Hamilton hit back: “This is deliberately provocative by the BBC. It’s a third rate PR stunt that will alienate their core viewers.
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“He’s a mediocre singer at best. I just hope this is the final nail in the BBC licence fee coffin.
“They have broadcast this to say, ‘this will be the only opportunity to see him this year in the UK’, I just hope we won’t have to see him at all.
“People will turn off in their droves. If this is the best the BBC can produce for the Proms, which is a classical music festival, which is what it is. It’s ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”
Asked whether the singer will have to “tone it down”, De Campo responded: “They’ve already said it’s going to be appropriate.
Sam Smith turned heads at last year's BRIT Awards
PA
Christine Hamilton clashed with Divina De Campo on GB News
GB NEWS
“There is no reason to expect anything other than what you would expect from the Proms.
“Right from its inception, the Proms were designed to bring people in. We’ve had pop artists at the Proms since the 1970s. The idea that we don’t have global names performing is frankly, historically illiterate.”
“Frankly, nothing Sam Smith has ever done will be appropriate. He’s a porn star”, Hamilton argued, a claim branded “ridiculous” by De Campo as the debate spilled over.
Asked whether the BBC’s selection is “deliberately provocative”, De Campo said: “Sam Smith is doing nothing that Madonna wasn’t 30-40 years ago.
“The absolute level of moralising from people who have walked out in costume exactly the same as what Sam Smith is doing is ridiculous.”
The drag queen was making reference to Hamilton’s appearance at the Rocky Horror Show in 2002 where she donned suspenders and a fluffy feather boa.
She argued the appearance is “not the same” as what we have come to expect from Sam Smith, who is often criticised for “sexually provocative” performances.
“There’s nothing Sam Smith does that hasn’t been seen by Madonna or Beyonce or Lady Gaga”, De Campo added.
“You tailor it to the audience and the event that you’re performing at. The idea that you can’t allow one person to do one thing in one event then another thing at another is ridiculous.”
The 31-year-old caused a stir at last year’s Brit Awards when he put on a mock-Satanic show featuring the singer in a horned top hate and leather PVS attire.
His showing prompted more than 100 complaints to Ofcom.
