Sam Smith now identifies with they/them pronouns, the singer announced on Instagram on Friday (September 13).

“I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM,” they wrote in the post. “After a lifetime of being at way with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out. I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision, but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think… I hope you can see me like I see myself now. Thank you.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2WpiusAc6h/

Smith came out as non-binary and genderqueer in March of this year, but said they’d still accept he/him pronouns. The Sun also reported on Friday that Smith’s friends and family have already been referring to Smith as they/them but continued to use he/him pronouns in the story, which may have prompted their decision to publicly and explicitly come out.

Despite the explicit announcement, media outlets are still misgendering Smith. The Associated Press covered their coming out announcement but continued to use he/him pronouns when referring to the non-binary singer.

https://twitter.com/ut_nlgja/status/1172619347136831489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1172619347136831489&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fcelebs%2F2019%2F9%2F14%2Fap-misgendered-sam-smith-article-about-their-pronouns

https://twitter.com/LadyLantzALot/status/1172595720316080128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1172595720316080128&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fcelebs%2F2019%2F9%2F14%2Fap-misgendered-sam-smith-article-about-their-pronouns

The outlet reportedly corrected the article after posting without clarification or apology, but instead of replacing he/him with they/them, they just removed the personal pronouns altogether.

https://twitter.com/Aklipscomb/status/1172841078333952000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1172841078333952000&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fcelebs%2F2019%2F9%2F14%2Fap-misgendered-sam-smith-article-about-their-pronouns

Correctly using the preferred name and pronouns of transgender and non-binary people is important, as it has been linked to reduced depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behavior in youth.