Tag

Pose actor Billy Porter publicly apologized to pop singer Harry Styles. Porter has faced backlash for a comment he made last year about Vogue Magazine featuring the "Watermelon Sugar" singer on its cover.

Last October, Styles became Vogue's first male solo to grace the cover of the iconic fashion and lifestyle magazine, and he did it flawlessly in a fabulous Gucci gown.

While his gender-breaking portraiture incurred the wrath of conservative critics like Candace Owens, who encouraged toxic masculinity with her "Bring back manly men" comment, many celebrities and social media influencers supported Vogue and the former One Direction singer.

But Porter, who is a prominently gay, gender-bending fashion icon, was not happy with Vogue for promoting Styles' sartorial aesthetic.

The actor told The Sunday Times, "I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to," adding, "I'm not necessarily convinced and here is why."

"I created the conversation [about gender-fluid fashion] and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time."

He suggested that selecting a famous, white pop singer for the cover was insulting, as Styles has not worked to establish non-binary fashion.

"I'm not dragging Harry Styles," Porter emphasized.

"But he is the one you're going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn't care, he's just doing it because it's the thing to do."

delete

Now that the dust has settled since the heated conversation, Porter clarified his statement about Styles and apologized to him during an interview with Stephen Colbert on November 6.

"The first thing I wanna say is, Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth. It's not about you," said Porter.

"The conversation is not about you. The conversation is actually deeper than that. It's about the systems of oppression and erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture."

He admitted that it was a "lot to unpack," but added he was willing to revisit the conversation "sans the dragging and cancel culture of the internet because I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life—or humanity—in soundbites on social media."

"So when you're ready to have the real conversation, call a b*tch," he said while fanning himself with a Pride fan.

He finished the segment, saying:

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean no harm. I'm a gay man. We like Harry, he's cute."