Billy Porter reignites criticism of Harry Styles' Vogue cover: 'It doesn't feel good to me'
Billy Porter won't be an accessory to a fashion faux pas.
Porter, who previously slammed the selection of Harry Styles as the first man to grace the cover of American Vogue, doubled down on his initial criticism of the historic moment in an interview with The Telegraph published Friday.
Porter revealed he had done a Q&A discussion with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour in the months leading up to Styles' December 2020 cover, in which the British pop singer wore a lace ballgown by Gucci.
"(She) said to me at the end, 'How can we do better?' And I was so taken off guard that I didn't say what I should have said," Porter told the outlet. "Use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement … Six months later, Harry Styles is the first man on the cover."
Porter added he doesn't place the blame on Styles, but he does take issue with "the gatekeepers" in the fashion industry that have allowed for this oversight in LGBTQ representation.
"It’s not Harry Styles’ fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way," Porter said. "It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to elevate you. You haven’t had to sacrifice anything."
The "Pose" star first raised criticism of Styles’ Vogue cover in an interview with The Sunday Times in October 2021. Porter said although he "changed the whole game" for gender-nonconforming looks in celebrity men's fashion, he remained conflicted about his relationship with the broader fashion industry.
"I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to. I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why," Porter said at the time. "I created the conversation (about nonbinary fashion) and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time."
"I’m not dragging Harry Styles, 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," Porter continued. "This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned now. All he has to do is be white and straight."
Porter later apologized to Styles for his comments during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in November 2021.
"Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth. It's not about you," Porter said. "The conversation is not about you."
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Previously:Harry Styles makes history in ball gown as first solo man to grace Vogue cover, ever