There’s a glaringly obvious difference in the way Sam Smith on Big Night In was reported compared with cis celebrities
Sam Smith. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Sam Smith was among the dozens of stars who performed on the BBC’s Big Night In last night, which raised more than £27 million for COVID-19 relief.
Children in Need and Comic Relief joined forces for the first time for the three-hour show, which saw celebrities from BBC favourites like Little Britain, Doctor Who and the Vicar of Dibley send messages of support or take part.
The government promised to double the money raised, which will go towards supporting vulnerable people in the UK whose lives have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Catherine Tate, Gary Barlow, Dawn French, Olly Murs, Miranda Hart and Sam Smith were among the singers who took part in the fundraiser, which has been widely covered in the UK media.
But there’s just one problem.
“Interesting The Sun didn’t feel the need to mention the value of Gary Barlow’s house – or any of his past mistakes (like depriving the NHS of money by not paying taxes, for example) – isn’t it?” tweeted Huffington Post journalist Daniel.
“What’s the big difference between Sam Smith and Gary Barlow, I wonder…? HMMMMM……”
Interesting The Sun didn't feel the need to mention the value of Gary Barlow's house – or any of his past mistakes (like depriving the NHS of money by not paying tax, for example) – isn't it? What's the big difference between Sam Smith and Gary Barlow, I wonder…? HMMMMM…….. pic.twitter.com/nPNxfD7NF3
— Daniel (@sillyolddaniel) April 24, 2020
And it’s not just Gary Barlow whose “past mistakes” were inadvertently left out of The Sun’s headlines about the fundraiser – Dawn French, Peter Kay, Dua Lipa and Dave Grohl were all the subject of articles that didn’t mention the value of the house they were performing from.
The Sun’s coverage of the BBC’s Big Night In. (Screenshot)
But why did The Sun single non-binary star Sam Smith out?
“Well *a* difference is that one of them previously admitted to using an “aggressive tax avoidance scheme” and the other bought their £12m house without doing so,” the Evening Standard’s Rachel McGrath posited.
Being very well-behaved this morning and googling what was actually said before tweeting 😇— Rachel McGrath (@RachelMcGrath) April 24, 2020
What else would we expect from The Scum? #EverydayHomophobia— Mr Taylor-McKnight he/him/they (@taylorkwinship) April 24, 2020
But perhaps beloved London queer bar The Glory came closest to hitting the nail on the head, tweeting: “Sam Smith’s house has books so the public might think it’s a random vicarage or posh squat.
“They’re just reassuring people that is in fact quite pricey. Obviously Gary has a pricey pad.”
