Piers Morgan slams Sam Smith for ‘causing Brit Awards shake-up’ as male and female categories may be axed
PIERS Morgan has blasted Sam Smith for causing a Brit Awards shake-up after The Sun revealed male and female categories could be scrapped.
The aim is to avoid defining people by their sex at the annual music awards after award winning artist Sam Smith came out as non binary.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Piers, 54, said: "I think it's just great that time honoured traditions should be scrapped because one guy can't decide if he is male or female.
"So they are saying they want to accommodate non binary performers like Sam Smith. Now he'll enter the non binary categories.
"The whole point of having gender categories is to make it fair, to make it equal. Now we are going to go the other way."
He added: "Well I think it is a load of nonsense. The idea yuo have to change entire award categories for one guy, it's nonsense.
"If you want to do that Sam Smith, that's your dime. Don't change everything else for you because that ain't the way it should play."
Piers claimed women will suffer under the new rules and then joked he wants to enter any future TV award shows as a dinosaur.
He said: "I want to identify as a dinosaur. Let's have a category at every TV awards that is for Best Dinosaur. Once you get into self identification that is the way it goes."
Bosses have decided to review categories for the British Female and British Male Solo Artist classifications in 2021.
It comes just a week after it was revealed Sam Smith wants to be referred to as “they” rather than “him,” having come out as non-binary in March.
A music industry source said: “Bosses are listening to changes happening in the industry. The categories will evolve in the coming years.
“The male and female categories will still be in place next February but changes are being planned for the following year. Organisers will be consulting labels and artists alike to work out what is best for the future of the Brits ceremony.”
There were concerns that the planned changes could marginalise female artists if a single Solo Artist category is created. Jess Glynne, 29, and Dua Lipa, 24, were the only British women in a mid-year chart update of the 20 best-selling albums of 2019.
Paloma Faith, 38, slammed last year’s Brit Awards for having more men performing than women.
The Grammy Awards cut their gendered categories in 2012. They have since been criticised for failing to recognise women.