Sam Smith credits Jim Carrey for helping them through their gender identity struggles.
Last month, Sam came out as non-binary, telling fans they identify as neither male or female and wish to be referred to with the pronouns they/them.
Collecting the Person of the Year at LGBTQ publication Attitude Magazine's annual awards gala on Wednesday, the Stay With Me hitmaker opened up about how a quote from the Dumb and Dumber actor helped them on the road to realisation.
"My emotions can be a bit of a roller coaster at times... I sometimes feel this great and heavy sadness inside," Sam shared. "I recently read a quote from Jim that summed up my feelings perfectly. 'Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character you've been trying to play.'"
Explaining how they felt inhibited before speaking publicly about their gender identity, Sam added: "There have been times where I have felt silenced. I stopped wearing what I wanted because I wanted to be a popstar.
"As each day went on slowly but surely my suits started to feel like straitjackets and my head started to feel more and more like a prison."
However, Sam feels liberated after coming out, and concluded: "My gender situation allows me to be myself."
