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Celebrities
Sinead Butler
Aug 23, 2022
My Policeman teaser trailer
My Policeman/Prime Video
Harry Styles has recently addressed the "queerbaiting" accusations that have previously been made against him and opened up about "figuring out sexuality."
Speaking to Rolling Stone, the As It Was singer said that he hasn't actually "publically been with anyone," of any gender.
"Sometimes people say, ‘You've only publicly been with women,' and I don't think I've publicly been with anyone," he said. "If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn't mean you're choosing to have a public relationship or something."
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Queerbaiting is where somebody takes on the looks and aesthetics of the LGBTQ+ community for profit without labelling their sexuality, which is what some critics have complained Styles does who is known for his gender-fluid fashion.
Many people have been left unimpressed with Styles's comments on the issue which have sparked a debate.
\u201ci am SICK of the repetitive cycle of harry styles signaling that he's queer but can't be open about it and the gp taking that as an indication that he's queerbaiting. it's devastating to not be allowed to be open about your identity and then get vilified by your own community.\u201d— percy \ud83c\udf0a || within the wings of a storm (@percy \ud83c\udf0a || within the wings of a storm) 1661195442
\u201cProbably a hot take but I think that many ppl feel like harry styles is queerbaiting bc we\u2019ve turned queerness into an aesthetic more than anything but it\u2019s a lived experience and way more complex than \u201cdude wears pink pants\u201d\u201d— Marie Shotaro\u2019s mother (@Marie Shotaro\u2019s mother) 1661222782
\u201charry styles say that he hasn't publicly been with someone, when publicly he has only been with famous and non-famous women, because he can't answer the question about queerbaiting is total disrespect towards those women... but you don't are you ready for this conversation \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffc\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— flori \ud83e\udd40 (@flori \ud83e\udd40) 1661173938
\u201charry styles is not queerbaiting. harry styles has never said he is unlabeled. what he did say is: his sexuality is his & it's not your business to force something on him or expect him to talk about it publicly.\u201d— ma\ud83c\udf53 is lysa's vlinder\ud83e\udd8b (@ma\ud83c\udf53 is lysa's vlinder\ud83e\udd8b) 1661202895
\u201charry styles trying to explain how he isn\u2019t queerbaiting because he\u2019s never explicitly called himself a pussy gobbling heterosexual\u201d— sewer cat (@sewer cat) 1661174082
\u201cHarry Styles being named "King of Pop?" Girl let's be serious... More like the King of Queerbaiting\u201d— Robin (@Robin) 1661200776
\u201charry styles could simply say yes or no to if he\u2019s queer or say he\u2019s unlabeled but he\u2019s just always vague to keep profiting off his lgbtq fans\u2019 back this is actually what queerbaiting is \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— \u0ecaMR. Tumble (@\u0ecaMR. Tumble) 1661177214
\u201cI\u2019m really conflicted in Harry Styles. On one hand his sexuality and gender are his business. On the other hand if he\u2019s going to continue to act openly queer without coming out as queer feels a little like queerbaiting.\u201d— trash fire (@trash fire) 1661221029
Styles made headlines when he became Vogue magazine’s first-ever solo male cover star in 2019, he sported a Gucci dress which caused backlash as Pose actor Billy Porter said: "All [Styles] has to do is be white and straight," to be seen as groundbreaking.
"I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it," Porter said. "I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but...He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life."
Porter later apologised to Styles during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "Harry Styles, I apologise to you for having your name in my mouth,” he said. “It’s not about you. The conversation is not about you."
Although Styles hasn't expressed his sexuality publically, he often waves the Pride flag at his shows, and helped a fan come out at one of them.
His unreleased song Medicine alludes to sexual fluidity with the lyrics: "The boys and the girls are here/I mess around with them/and I'm OK with it."
The 28-year-old stars in the upcoming 1950s romance film My Policeman, where he plays a British policeman who begins a same-sex love affair with a museum curator (David Dawson) and discussed his latest role with Rolling Stone.
"It's obviously pretty unfathomable now to think, ‘Oh, you couldn't be gay. That was illegal,'" Styles said. "I think everyone, including myself, has your own journey with figuring out sexuality and getting more comfortable with it."
"So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it," he added.
"There will be, I would imagine, some people who watch it who were very much alive during this time when it was illegal to be gay, and [director Michael Grandage] wanted to show that it's tender and loving and sensitive."
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