Sam Smith Reveals Celebrity Crush After Coming Out As Non-Binary

Sam Smith’s celebrity crush is a secret no more.

For the first time since opening up about being non-binary earlier this year, the singer revealed some love-life details. In an interview on SiriusXM’s Hits1 on Friday, Smith was asked about a celebrity crush.

“Do you know who came up on my phone last night? Shia LaBeouf,” Smith said, via OK! Magazine. “He’s so fit. He turns me on.”

Smith admitted that there would probably be no chance at a relationship with LaBeouf, with the singer saying he didn’t think Shia was gay.

“But I’ll be happy to be his first,” Smith added.

It’s not clear if Shia LaBeouf has any feelings on Smith’s crush.

As the report noted, Smith has been single since ending a relationship with 13 Reasons Why actor Brandon Flynn last year. The revelation about a crush on Shia was one of the first times Smith has opened up about his love life since revealing earlier this year that they identified as non-binary, and preferred to use they/their pronouns. Speaking to actress Jemella Jamil, Smith saying they did not feel to fit into conventional ideas about gender.

“I am not male or female,” Smith said. “I think I float somewhere in-between.”

The interview led to a backlash against Smith and the preferred use of gender neutral pronouns. As NBC News noted, there was already a growing conversation at the time about the appropriate use of preferred pronouns. At the same time as Smith’s announcement, the dictionary Merriam Webster announced that it was adding an entry to the definition of the pronoun “they” to refer to a nonbinary individual. Around the same time, The Associated Press also updated its style guide to allow for the use of they/them pronouns in news stories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qas79teBXk

Smith admits that it has still been a struggle to grow into this new identity, saying there is fear for letting out the “feminine self” in a music industry that can be homophobic and sexist.

“So being feminine like this in the way I move and dance and am, it feels quite scary at times but is worth it,” Smith said.

Smith’s revelation that Shia LaBeouf is a celebrity crush would not come as too big a surprise. Though only recently coming out as non-binary, Smith has been openly gay since in 2014, two years after their breakthrough album, Money on My Mind. Smith, at the time, revealed a relationship with actor and model Jonathan Zeizel.