Billy Porter Apologizes to Harry Styles for Vogue Cover Comments: ‘The Conversation is Actually Deeper Than You’

Billy Porter is apologizing for the comments he made about Harry Styles‘ history-making Vogue cover: “Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth.”

Last month, Porter’s name made headlines after he shared his opinion on the mega singer’s Vogue cover, on which he wore a full-length dress. His placement on the cover, made Styles for the first man to ever cover the magazine solo. 

“All he has to do is be white and straight,” Porter said previously of the Styles’ Vogue cover, adding that the cover could have been a great platform for someone who is known for celebrating gender fluidity within fashion. 

“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to,” he told British newspaper The Sunday. “I created the conversation (about non-binary fashion) and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time.”

While chatting with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert this past week, the multiple award-winning actor opened up about his statements. 

“Apparently I’m famous now, and it was a slow news day, so the first thing I want to say is, ‘Harry Styles, I apologize to you for having your name in my mouth,’” said Porter on the show. “It’s not about you. The conversation is not about you…the conversation is actually deeper than that. It is about the oppression and the erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture. That’s a lot to unpack. I’m willing to unpack it sans the dragging and culture of the Internet because I do not now, nor will I ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. So when you’re ready to have the real conversation, call a b——h!”

He added: “I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean no harm. I’m a gay man. We like Harry. He’s cute!” Porter added, saying that he was “surprised” by the backlash he received. “”I am surprised because there are so many other important things on this earth to talk about.”