Pfizer sponsored 2023 Grammy Awards. (Image via Gabriel Bouys/Getty, Gado/Getty)

Who sponsored the Grammys 2023? Pfizer backlash erupts on Twitter in wake of satanic controversy

Modified Feb 07, 2023 07:09 GMT

American pharmaceutical company Pfizer's sponsorship of the 2023 Grammy Awards has sparked controversy online in the wake of Sam Smith and Kim Petras' performance of their song, Unholy.

A commercial for Pfizer was played immediately after the performance, which had Smith sporting horns akin to that of a devil, leading many to deem the performance "satanic" and question the pharmaceutical brand sponsoring it.

Catturd ™

@catturd2

Why is @pfizer sponsoring unholy satanic performances at the Grammys?

In a statement issued to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the company wrote:

“We sponsored the overall Grammy’s event, not any particular performance. Beyond that, we don’t comment on our efforts to raise awareness.”

The awards ceremony was held on February 5, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, and saw many iconic moments, including Harry Styles winning the acclaimed Album of the Year award for Harry's House, and Beyonce creating history for bagging the most number of Grammys.

However, some viewers noticed several mentions of Pfizer, which led to the belief that the pharmaceutical company was one of the sponsors for the event. As per the official website of the Grammys, the official partners for the awards ceremony include Google Pixel, IBM, Mastercard, Amazon Music, JBL, GREY GOOSE, City National Bank, Hilton, People, United Airlines, Frontera, FIJI Water, and SiriusXM.

It must be noted that Pfizer is not mentioned in the list of official partners.

"You can't make this stuff up": Pfizer comes under fire online after Sam Smith's Unholy performance

E! Australia & NZ

@EOnlineAU

Sam Smith and Kim Petras win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Unholy," becoming the first non-binary and transgender artists, respectively, to win a Grammy. Watch!

Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their song Unholy at the 2023 Grammy Awards. The performance featured fire, red lighting, and the former sporting a pair of horns, traditionally associated with Satan as believed by some.

The Pfizer commercial was played right after their musical performance, which irked some viewers, prompting them to draw a connection between the pharmaceutical company and Sam Smith's "Satanic" performance.

@ElijahSchaffer

Sam Smith has a SATANIC Grammys performance & it’s sponsored by Pfizer

You can’t make this stuff up

Several right-wing politicians took this opportunity to call out the company as well as the controversial performance during the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Political commentator Liz Wheeler wrote:

Liz Wheeler

@Liz_Wheeler

Don’t fight the culture wars, they say. Meanwhile demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan. I could throw up.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also commented on Smith's "demonic performance," adding that "American Christians need to get to work."

Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸

@mtgreenee

The Grammy’s featured Sam Smith’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer.

And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services.

American Christians need to get to work.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also shared his remarks on Twitter about the pharmaceutical company sponsoring "The Devil" performance at the awards function.

Charlie Kirk

@charliekirk11

The Devil. Brought to you by Pfizer…

Other internet users also slammed the pharmaceutical company for sponsoring the controversial performance, despite the latter's claims that they sponsored the whole event, not one specific performance.

Chief Nerd

@TheChiefNerd

Pfizer: We need to pause advertising on Twitter to see how @elonmusk moderates hate speech

Also Pfizer: How much to sponsor the Satanic performance at the Grammys?

Watch until the end

Hodgetwins

@hodgetwins

Of COURSE the big sponsor for the grammys was Pfizer

Kubela4Freedom and Life

@KubelaLlc

Diabolical pure evil Grammys by Pfizer, what fools

Krisandra

@k_praytor

Grammys openly celebrating satan (Sam Smith singing “unholy,” brought to you by Pfizer all while Jill Biden is handing out song of the year. It’s a satanic cult. If this doesn’t show people I don’t know what will. It’s blatantly disgusting! Stop giving the #GRAMMYs the ratings twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat

@leslibless

Pfizer sponsored a sickening satanic ritual at the Grammys. I’m not showing it, cause that’s not what God wants..attention brought to it. I’m now muting the word “Grammys.”

Pfizer is evil!

SaltyGoat

@SaltyGoat17

Sam Smith singing “Unholy” at the Grammys

WTF?

This is the sort of thing that we are dealing with and this is the sort of thing that needs to end. This country has fallen down a dark hole and it's trash like this that gave it the push.

Interesting note: Sponsored by Pfizer BTW

Dominique Samuels

@Dominiquetaegon

To make matters worse, the Grammys award show that featured Sam Smith’s debauchery was sponsored by none other than Pfizer. 🤡

An0maly

@LegendaryEnergy

They really ran the “sponsored by Pfizer” right after the Satanic demon performance at the Grammys.

This stuff is getting too obvious.

Both Sam Smith and Kim Petras, are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, with the former coming out as non-binary in 2019 and using they/them pronouns. Petras was 16 when she had a gender confirmation surgery.

Even though their performance has garnered significant backlash online, the pair made history at the 2023 Grammy Awards and won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, with Smith becoming the first non-binary artist and Petras the first trans woman to bag the award.

kim petras

@kimpetras

thank you :)

Unholy, which was released in September 2022, has been topping various charts since its release and continues to do so.

As for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company's name has not been listed as an official partner on the Recording Academy's website, unlike its other official partners like Google Pixel, Grey Goose, IBM, and Mastercard.

However, its logo clearly appeared during the live broadcast of the 2023 Grammy Awards, along with text that read, "sponsored by Pfizer." Furthermore, the company's official statement in response to the backlash online, further confirmed the pharmaceutical company's sponsorship at the event.

Edited by
Upasya Bhowal