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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Dominique Hines

Sam Smith made ‘swift exit’ from Brit Awards after ‘backstage bust-up’ over set malfunction

Sam Smith is said to have swiftly left the Brit Awards following reports of a “backstage bust up” over the £500,000 set.

The singer reportedly was unhappy because of delays caused by the malfunctioning set for their and Kim Petras‘s hit Unholy.

Smith, who identifies as non-binary and uses gender neutral pronouns, allegedly rowed with crew over the technical issues, which affected the live TV awards ceremony's schedule.

The issues, which resulted in a random video montage of Adele briefly appearing on screens, caused delays and is said to have put Smith’s performance in jeopardy.

A source told The Sun: "Sam’s performance might have appeared seamless but behind-the-scenes it was a nightmare.

Smith, performing his hit Unholy, is said to have swiftly left the show as soon as BRITS concludeed (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

“The whole set was built and ready to go but then a ­malfunction meant it had to be pulled off.

“Stormzy was moved forward and Sam was told there was a possibility their performance might be pulled altogether.

“Sam was understandably furious and it was pretty tense backstage.”

The star hit the red carpet at Saturday night’s ceremony with a show-stopping latex look (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

The star, who made a statement with their outfit of a pumped-up black latex bodysuit, lost out to Harry Styles for Best Pop/R&B Act and Song of the Year for Unholy.

Earlier this month, Smith and transgender artist Petras, won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

The duo performed their hit at the star-studded event in Downtown Los Angeles but their risque showing garnered 18 complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission, which is the US equivalent of Ofcom.

Evening Standard has contacted Smith’s representatives and the Brit Awards for comment.

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