Billy Porter Slams Vogue for Cover of Harry Styles in a Dress: ‘I Changed the Whole Game’ But ‘All He Has to do is Be White and Straight’
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Billy Porter has condemned Vogue for its Harry Styles cover.
Styles made waves when he became the first man to land a solo Vogue cover in December 2020 — especially as he was dressed in a Gucci gown.
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The cover received an outpouring of attention, with fans praising the star for breaking gender norm boundaries, while conservative pundits hit at Styles for not being “manly” enough.
Porter highlighted the cover during a recent interview with the Sunday Times, condemning Vogue for choosing to put Styles on the groundbreaking cover.
“I changed the whole game,” Porter said. “And that is not ego, that is just fact. I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it.”
Porter went on to say that he feels as if the fashion industry has accepted him “because they have to” and not because they truly view him as a trailblazer.
“I’m not necessarily convinced, and here is why: I created the conversation, and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time,” he added. “I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation?”
While he ensured he was not hitting at Styles, Porter went on to say that the pop star “doesn’t care” about gender bending, but is “just doing it because it’s the thing to do.”
“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 down,” he added. “All he has to do is be White and straight.”
