Sam Smith divides fans as singer opens up on liposuction ordeal aged just 13: 'All sorts of reasons why!'

The Stay With Me singer, who identifies as non-binary and uses gender-neutral pronouns, shot to fame in 2014 with the Grammy-winning debut album In the Lonely Hour.

Smith later achieved global success with the Oscar-winning James Bond theme song for Spectre.

Opening up on the Podcrushed podcast, hosted by actor Penn Badgley, director Nava Kavelin, and author Sophie Ansari, on Wednesday, Smith explained: “I had surgery on my chest when I was 13 years old, because I had a growing chest."

The 33-year-old continued: “There were all sorts of reasons why, but mainly, I was just getting so teased. I couldn’t go swimming in school and… like, getting changed in the locker room was hell.

“So I got liposuction when I was 13 years old.”

The singer's parents were “hugely supportive of the whole thing, because they just saw how much it was crippling everything about me.”

However, the surgery didn’t solve everything. “The liposuction... It worked, but it was also a nightmare because they gave me a bandage," Smith added.

“If I wore the bandage, it meant that I would get to the front of the lunch queue, so I just kept this bandage on for nearly a year, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, don’t come close to me,’ and then I’d just get first at lunch… so the surgery never really worked,” the star joked.

The Unholy singer said they have since grown far more comfortable in their own skin.

This didn’t come easily, however, as following a demanding tour in 2018, the pop star was forced to re-evaluate the body image struggle.

In a separate interview with The Sunday Times, the Dancing With A Stranger singer said: “I was 25, I came off tour exhausted.

“I looked to role models in the body world. Every time I went to the pool, I felt self-conscious, but I forced myself to take my top off.

“It paid off because I now have the opposite of body dysmorphia. I look fabulous. I’m finally getting a tan. I’m burnt in places I’ve never been burnt.”

Following the new podcast revelation, fans flocked to social media to share their thoughts on the singer undergoing the procedure so young.

“This is heartbreaking, what parent & DOCTOR allowed this…” one X user posted, while another insisted: “You should just be happy with what God gave you. Plastic surgery to me is just a waste of money.”

Another weighed in: “Unless you were in a horrible accident or had an unfortunate medical circumstance, no age is right/good for any sort of useless surgery… can people not be at least somewhat at peace with what they look like?”

However, others shared their support for the star.

“Hey, to each his own… they had the money and a motive. I think if you’re old enough to think it and decide to do it… shouldn’t matter… you have to live and learn in life,” one fan wrote on X, while another added: “You can tell they are at a totally different place now! Happy and confident! Loved the interview!”

Smith isn’t the only A-lister to share their personal experience with the fat-removal procedure.

Cardi B, Chrissy Teigen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Clay Aiken, and Nene Leakes have publicly discussed undergoing liposuction.

Meanwhile, other celebrities, including Sharon Osbourne, and Susan Sarandon, have also spoken about using the fat-removal technique to target specific areas.