Sam Smith is opening up getting liposuction at age 13 — and why it turned into a “nightmare.”
The Grammy winner, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke about the experience on the Wednesday, November 5, episode of the “Podcrushed” podcast hosted by Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari and Nava Kavelin.
Smith, 33, said they struggled with their weight and felt self-conscious about their body while in high school, leading to them seeking surgery.
“For me, it was always my weight. My weight was the hardest thing for me in school, and weirdly the thing I probably got teased the most about,” Smith said on the podcast.
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“I had surgery on my chest when I was 13 years old because I had a growing chest,” the “I’m Not the Only One” singer continued. “There was all sorts of reasons why, but mainly that I was just getting so teased. I couldn’t go swimming in school, and getting changed in the locker room was hell. So I got liposuction when I was 13 years old.”
Host Badgley, 39, then asked how Smith’s parents reacted when they said they wanted to go under the knife.
“They were supportive,” Smith responded. “They were hugely supportive of the whole thing because they saw how much it was crippling everything about me.”
Smith said that despite undergoing liposuction, they continued to struggle with their weight and relationship with food.
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“It was all a struggle with food and stuff, and the liposuction, it worked, but it was also a nightmare,” they said. “Because they gave me a bandage which is like a bra … I was only meant to wear it for a month, but if I wore the bandage, it meant that I would get to the front of the lunch queue because everyone had to be sensitive about my chest. So I just kept this bandage on for nearly a year.”
“I’d be like, ‘Ooh, don’t come close to me,’ and I’d get first in the lunch queue, and I’d just eat more and eat more,” Smith continued. “So the surgery never really worked because I just love food.”
Smith previously opened up about having liposuction as a teenager in an interview with Jameela Jamil for the Good Place actress’ I Weigh Instagram series in 2019.
“When I was a kid, I was chubby … and then it would get worse and worse and worse, and I was holding a lot of weight in my chest. When I hit 11 years old, I went to the doctor,” the “Unholy” singer said at the time. “I was so self-conscious that it was affecting my mood every day and my life as a teenager.”
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“At the time, I think I was very happy about it. It didn’t really change anything,” they continued. “I think I put the weight back on in two weeks because I hadn’t figured out my relationship with food, so it didn’t really change anything. But being 12 years old and having liposuction on your chest is quite a big deal.”
In a January 2023 interview with The Sunday Times, Smith said they’d finally learned to overcome their body dysmorphia after years of insecurities about their physical appearance.
“When I was 25 I came off tour exhausted. I looked to role models in the body world. Every time I went to the pool I felt self-conscious, but I forced myself to take my top off,” they said. “It paid off because I now have the opposite of body dysmorphia. I look fabulous. I’m finally getting a tan. I’m burnt in places I’ve never been burnt.”
