Richard Madeley Slammed For Calling Sam Smith ‘He’ And Misgendering Guest On Good Morning Britain
Good Morning Britain’s Richard Madeley has been slammed for referring to Sam Smith as ‘he’ and misgendering a guest on the show.
The pop star, 30, is non-binary and started using they/them pronouns in 2019.
Madeley, 66, and his co-host Susanna Reid, 52, were discussing Smith’s raunchy new music video when it happened.
Despite the debate surrounding Smith’s racy behaviour in the promo for ‘I’m Not Here To Make Friends’, it’s Madeley who’s landed himself in hot water.
Watch as Richard Madeley is corrected for misgendering Sam Smith and a guest here…
Talking about the music video, Madeley says: “For the purposes of this debate, let’s just read out the stuff we didn’t show you.
“Men film from behind, gyrating while wearing leather trousers with the bottom cut out in a heart shape, a shot of him… Sam.”
Reid then interjects and says: “They… remember Sam Smith uses the pronouns they,” to which Madeley responds: “They, yes, sorry.”
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But things got even more awkward when Madeley slipped up for a second time, misgendering guest Shivani Dave, who also uses they/them pronouns.
This forced Dave to remind the presenter of their correct pronouns.
Madeley responds to getting called out again, saying: “I’m so sorry, I will learn to do that.”
After the show aired, Dave responded to messages about the incident on Twitter.
They write: “Been getting messages from people worried about Richard Madley misgendering me on GMB.
“I corrected him, he apologised and took it on board. A masterclass on how to do things if you mess up, we shared a thumbs up and I told him his hair looks great.”
Viewers, however, have reacted angrily to the presenter’s repeated misgendering of the pop star and the show’s guest.
Replying to Dave, another writes: “I was watching and cringing as it happened a few times to you and in reference to Sam Smith.
“I’m so glad you tweeted this though as I was wondering if there had been any further discussions or apologies afterwards.”
While one fan writes: “GMB shocking you have that man on TV and he can’t even get pronouns correct, offensive, he’s supposed to be a professional reporter irrespective of his personal views.
“You really need that man off GMB. Thanks Susanna Reid for constantly correcting him.”
Elsewhere, one viewer echoes: “People on GMB talking about using pronouns for non-binary people: ‘It’s difficult remembering how to address people’, ‘Well it is quite new’.
“It’s only two words and that effort you make will make that non-binary person feel so respected and humanised.”
One viewer rages: “B****y hell GMB, is it really so difficult to get people’s pronouns right????”
Meanwhile, another fan praised Reid for pulling Madeley up on his error: “Susanna correcting pronouns on GMB, I love her and also having non-binary representation on the show makes me happy.”
While non-binary people have existed throughout history, public awareness has grown exponentially in recent years.
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The Trevor Project, which provides crisis support services to LGBTQ+ young people, found that many young people use pronouns other than he/him and she/her.
A poll found that 35 per cent of Gen Z know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns.
While one in four LGBTQ+ youth identified as non-binary.
In 2019, internet searches for the word ‘they’ increased by 313 per cent compared to 2018.
Correctly using people’s pronouns has been proven to be associated with better mental health and helps to create a safe and affirming culture where people feel respected.
The Association for Behaviour and Cognitive Therapies reports: “Pronouns are not simply ‘preferred’, but necessary.”
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