Viewers of This Morning on ITV were left fuming after Sir Bob Geldof repeatedly misgendered Sam Smith. Viewers were also quick to head online and point out the Band Aid star's blunder was not corrected by hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield.
Appearing on the programme, Sir Bob referred to Sam as "he" several times. Bob appeared as a guest on the daytime show and discussed a wide range of topics, including the sad death of his Boomtown Rats bandmate Garry Roberts and the impact Band Aid has had over the years, reports LancsLive.
The political activist and songwriter was discussing the upcoming 40th anniversary of Band Aid when he mentioned Sam Smith and how they took part in 2014. However, he repeatedly misgendered the singer - who identifies as non-binary and asks people to use the pronouns 'they/them' when being addressed.
Bob said: "Sam Smith, I remember him at the microphone had his eyes closed, and he was singing away to the song, and I said 'Sam, they're not the words'. He goes, 'oh yeah, sorry'. Because we had re-written the words for I think the Ebola crisis in west Africa.
"And he says 'sorry', so off he goes, he closes his eyes again and he starts singing the original words. I said 'Sam', and he goes 'oh yes, sorry, every year in school I have to sing this song'". Phil, Holly and Bob shared a laugh before Holly says: "It's go engrained".
The error did not go unnoticed online with many fans sharing their disappointment at the hosts letting Bob go uncorrected. @Yayleyw_journo tweeted: "Not Bob Geldof repeatedly misgendering Sam Smith on live telly and the evil Holly and Phil not correcting him."
@Ells_worthy replied: "Ugh. It's so easy not to do." @ToniHepburn85 added: "Bob Geldof just misgendered Sam Smith on this morning."
@RobsonMcTanned typed: "'He' Bob, ooh you'll be in trouble now. #ThisMorning." However, @Petewo89 defended Bob, saying: "Probably was he/him when working with Bob. It's not like he's doing it maliciously."
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It comes after Sam Smith corrected The One Show's Alex Jones after being misgendered. The singer said they dreamed of being a "fisher-them". Earlier this month Good Morning Britain's Ranvir Singh came under fire after using the wrong pronouns for Sam on the show.
Last month fellow GMB host Richard Madeley was also forced to apologise twice live on air after misgendering Sam and guest Shivani Dave. After the loss of his bandmate, Garry Roberts, Sir Bob Geldof revealed how the Boomtown Rats are paying tribute to him with their remastered single, ‘No Tomorrow Like Today'.
