Bias Watch

Ted Cruz & conservative Christians freak out over “Satan worship” at Grammys

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. Photo: Gage Skidmore

Several prominent conservative leaders – including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are freaking out at Kim Petras’s and Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys, which they call “full-on Satan worship right on prime time TV.”

Rightwing podcaster Liz Wheeler shared a clip from the Grammy-winning duo’s performance of their hit “Unholy” and said it’s proof that “demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.”

Cruz shared Wheeler’s tweet and wrote, “This…is…evil.”

Cruz was far from the only person worried that kids would turn to Satan after watching Smith and Petras dance in front of some fire, with Smith wearing a hat with horns on it. Far-right Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk sarcastically said the performance is “definitely not a spiritual war” and later called it “The Devil, brought to you by Pfizer.”

Former White House strategist from the Donald Trump administration, Steve Bannon, called the performance “demonic” on social media.

Others denounced the Petras/Smith performance.

In 2021, out hip hop artist Lil Nas X received similar criticism from the right after the release of his video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which used Satanic imagery.

“i spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the s**t y’all preached would happen to me because i was gay,” Nas wrote on Twitter, addressing the criticism. “so i hope u are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.”

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