It has been said that CBS could be fined for Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ controversial Grammys performance recently. This comes after dozens of complaints.
At the star-studded 65th Grammy Awards show this year, the two took the stage to sing their song “Unholy,” which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October. For this song, they won an award for “Best Pop Duo.”
People on social media quickly called the performance “satanic” because Petras and Smith, who are both 30, were dressed in blood-red outfits and were surrounded by dancers dressed as the Devil. Smith also wore a red top hat with horns on it.
Even though 18 people complained about the performance to CBS and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Church of Satan said that what Smith and Petras were trying to do was “nothing special,” especially since Satanic imagery is “kind of passé” now.
US Senator Ted Cruz was especially disgusted by the show, and he took to Twitter to say so.
This is… evil,
he wrote in response to commentator Liz Wheeler’s post that read:
Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile, demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.
This…is…evil. https://t.co/SBrOgHfFcX
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 6, 2023
Jack Lombardi II, another politician, agreed and wrote below:
The greatest act the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn’t exist – and now he hides in plain sight.
The greatest act the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn't exist – and now he hides in plain sight.
— Jack Lombardi II (@JackLombardi) February 6, 2023
Madonna, a legend in the world of pop music, told the crowd before the pair’s unique performance:
Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music. If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative, or dangerous, you are definitely onto something,
per source.
Concerning the complaints, though, they could get CBS into trouble. In fact, a source reported that networks have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for airing “obscene material.” According to them, it is against federal law to air obscene programming at any time and to air indecent or profane programming during certain hours.
In 2004, the FCC fined CBS a huge amount of money after Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl performance. During the performance, Janet Jackson’s bare breast was seen (which may or may not have been an accident).
A source got a copy of one of the complaints sent to the FCC, which said:
I will be canceling my television service due to this,
while another said:
It was wrought with evil imagery, and depicted DEVIL WORSHIPING ACOLYTES writhing around on the floor virtually naked, and in CAGES. It was broadcast on live television, and I cannot believe that CBS allowed it.
In response to the backlash, Petras has since spoken out, telling reporters:
I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool, and I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it but slowly realizing it didn’t want me to be a part of it.
So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live because as a trans person, I’m already not kind of wanted in religion. So we were doing a take on that, and I was kind of hell keeper Kim,
she added.
