Sam Smith: Singer in homophobic attack in front of his dad

Smith spoke of his humiliation after being punched, and accosted in front of his father

Sam Smith for 'In the Lonely' (Getty Images)

Sam Smith has opened up about the homophobic bullying he experienced while growing up.

Talking in the February issue of Rolling Stone, Smith said that someone drove by and shouted "faggot" while he was walking with his father.

"I was just embarrassed that my dad had to see that, because I could only imagine how you feel as a parent," Smith said of the encounter that happened in his small hometown of Great Chishill, Cambridgeshire.

"You just want to kill them. I was always embarrassed for the people around me. It actually never deeply affected me, you know?"

Despite taking it on the chin, it wasn't the only time the Stay With Me singer encountered abuse.

Smith, now 22, also remembers being physically attacked for his sexuality. After moving to London as a young man, he was targeted for walking around wearing makeup. "I got punched in my neck, just out of nowhere," Smith told the magazine. "It wasn't the easiest."