Sam Smith gives ‘Love Actually’-style silent awards speech after vocal surgery

Sam Smith has delivered a silent acceptance speech at the Billboard awards – while waiting to undergo surgery on his vocal chords.

The ‘Money on my Mind’ singer cancelled all his public appearances and scrapped tour plans last month – after suffering a haemorrhage on his vocal cords.

He later underwent surgery in a bid to fix the problem, going under the knife in  Massachusetts General Hospital.

However, he did not let that stop him from delivering an acceptance speech at the Billboard Awards – where he picked up three awards including Top New Artist and Top Male Artist.

Re-enacting a famous scene from the rom-com Love Actually, Sam delivered his speech via a series of placards in a message recorded before going under the knife.

He wrote: “First, thank you billboard for this incredible honour. Secondly, thank you to my amazing fans. It’s times like this that I realise how lucky I am to have you in my life.

“Can’t wait to get this surgery out of the way so I can sing my ass off for you again. And lastly, seeing as you guys are in Vegas, Taylor [Swift]… put a 100 on black for me!”

Earlier this month, the ‘Stay with Me’ singer discussed how being bullied over his weight affected him more than being targeted over his sexuality, saying: “I think just because I’ve accepted that, if someone calls me a faggot, it’s like, I am gay and I’m proud to be gay so there’s no issues there. But if someone calls you fat, that’s something I want to change.”

Smith came out as gay publicly last year, when he revealed his album was about a man he fell in love with – but has been out in his private life since he was a young boy.

• Dec 01 2023

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