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Sam Smith has opened up about getting liposuction at the age of 13 (Picture: Aliah Anderson/Getty Images) Sam Smith has opened up about getting liposuction at the age of 13 to overcome self-consciousness about their chest. The Unholy hitmaker, 33, looked back at their childhood in a recent episode of Penn Badgley’s podcast Podcrushed, in which they talked about feeling ‘uncomfortable’ the whole time over their weight as a young teenager. ‘For me it was always my weight,’ they said. ‘My queerness was something I could handle and have a grasp on. But my weight was the hardest thing and weirdly what I got teased the most about.’ Sam explained how they had a gaggle of protective girlfriends at school, but that ‘angry’ boys picked on them. ‘I had surgery on my chest when I was 13 years old because I had a growing chest,’ Sam revealed. Explaining why they underwent the liposuction, Sam said: ‘There were all sorts of reasons why but mainly because I was getting teased. ‘I couldn’t go swimming and getting changed in the locker room was hell. So I got liposuction when I was 13.’ The Stay With Me hitmaker explained that they were getting bullied for their ‘growing chest’ (Picture: Mariano Regidor/Redferns) What is liposuction? As per NHS, liposuction is a cosmetic procedure used to remove unwanted body fat. It involves sucking out small areas of fat that are hard to lose through exercise and a healthy diet. It’s carried out on areas of the body where deposits of fat tend to collect, The aim is to alter body shape, and the results are generally long-lasting, providing you maintain a healthy weight. Liposuction carried out for cosmetic reasons is not normally available on the NHS. However, it’s sometimes used by the NHS to treat certain health conditions. The Stay With Me hitmaker confirmed their parents were supportive of the procedure, because they could see how much it was ‘crippling’ them. ‘It was all a struggle with food and stuff,’ Sam said. ‘The liposuction worked but it was also a nightmare because they gave me a bandage, which is like a bra, which I was only meant to wear for a month.’ They went on to add, jokingly: ‘But if I wore the bandage it meant I would get to the front of the lunch queue because everyone had to be sensitive about my chest. So I kept the bandage on for nearly a year.’ Sam previously opened up about the surgery in 2019, explaining that they carried ‘extra estrogen’ in their chest and ‘had breasts’. The singer has found themselves over the past 10 years (Picture: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Initially, Sam toned down their personality when they found fame (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage) While weight was Sam’s main cause of discomfort at school, they also described coming out as gay aged 10 to one friend, and keeping this part of them a secret from the rest of the school. ‘When I think back to 12, I just think about the discomfort of being in school at that time,’ Sam said, before chuckling: ‘I was so gay. There was no closest, I was so obviously gay. Everyone knew before I did.’ The singer, who always gave the bullies a mouthful back, reflected on themselves at this stage, that they were ‘popular, I was chubby, round and pink. I was addicted to sausage rolls’. Sam also talked about how singing was a ‘superpower and a burden’. The power came from people stopping and noticing their voice, while the burden was that Sam didn’t actually like singing in front of people. ‘I am petrified to sing in front of people. I find it really, really hard,’ they said, recalling: ‘I had a panic attack on stage when I was 26. It changed my life. In South Africa, I froze on stage and couldn’t sing for a year after that. I didn’t publicly tell anyone about it.’ Sam first found their big break into music when house duo Disclosure invited them to sing on the 2012 track, Latch. For their debut album, Lay Me Down, Sam’s characteristic wild fashion statements they are known for 12 years on, were barely there. For Sam, this stripping back was them trying to resist being ‘too much’. ‘I was always just too much. I’m a lot, just naturally,’ Sam reflected. ‘Even me being quiet is a lot. That’s hard. ‘It’s down to the way I speak, what I wear, all these things. For many years, at the beginning of my career, that was me toning it down but enjoying the doors that were opening.’ Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
