Sam Smith: My ‘Whole World Just Crashed’ When Gay Men Bullied Me

In a touching interview with UK tabloid The Sun, British pop sensation Sam Smith spoke about how bullying affected him first hand and why he wants to speak out for the LGBT community.

"At the beginning of last year I wasn't talking about my sexuality as much," Smith told the paper. "But I've sold loads of records now and I have a voice. I can speak about this from a position of power, compared to two years ago where it would have been pissing in the wind. It wouldn't have gone anywhere."

Smith, who says that he came out when he was 11 years old, was a target of the slurs of his childhood peers.

"A bunch of boys from a rival school would shout insults at me as I walked from my home to the train station," said Smith. "I remember walking to the station getting 'faggot' shouted at me all the time. It was the most mortifying thing. Not so much for me. I knew these people were stupid, uneducated twats."

When Smith grew older, the attacks became violent.

"When I moved to London I got punched in the neck walking back from work. It was definitely homophobic," he said. "I was on the phone speaking quite loudly and had pink headphones on, so it was pretty clear I was gay."

However, what hurt the most was when the barbs came from within the gay community.

"When I was 17 I decided to go gay clubbing in SoHo in London. I remember walking in and this gay guy turned to his mate and said something really nasty about me," Sam said. "My whole world just crashed and I had a really lonely feeling. I knew then it was going to take a lot longer to be accepted. There's a lot of homophobia and bullying in the gay community. There's also a lot of body dysmorphia in the gay community, which means if you're not toned and skinny it can be awful."

[h/t MTV]