Sam Smith just laid down the law for his haters.

The singer opened up about his dramatic weight loss on Australian TV show “A Current Affair,” and discussed how he has used food as a coping mechanism. Smith, who has lost 42 pounds since January, admitted to having felt “controlled” by food from a young age.

”When I was at school and wasn’t having a great time or when music wasn’t going very well, I would eat… eating would make me feel better, when I felt lonely I would eat. If someone calls me a ‘faggot’ it’s like, ‘I am gay and I’m proud to be gay’, so there’s no issues. But if someone calls you fat, that’s something I want to change. That’s something I can change so that affects me more,” he said.

Smith shed the pounds in the weeks after being lampooned by Howard Stern for his weight. The move also came shortly after the star split with boyfriend Jonathan Zeizel, whom he dated briefly in the beginning of the year.

In March, the “Stay With Me” singer took to Instagram to share that he had lost 14 pounds in 14 days. He credited nutritional therapist Amelia Freer for the transformation, saying, “Three weeks ago I met a woman who has completely changed my life. Amelia Freer has helped me lose over a stone in 2 weeks and has completely transformed my relationship with food.”

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