Billy Porter speaks out against Harry Styles‘s popular Vogue cover: “All he has to do is be white and straight.”
Last year, Harry Styles became the first man to make the cover of the magazine solo. In his photoshoot, Styles wore a full-length dress, shocking some and pleasing others. But Porter allegedly feels Styles was given an opportunity meant for someone who is more well-known for celebrating gender fluidity in fashion.
During an interview with The Sunday, Porter said there are more opportunities given to white men than Black gay men.
“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to,” he told the British newspaper. “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.”
He added that he “changed the game” regarding men wearing skirts and dresses, noting that it’s time for the right people to be given their flowers.
“I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it,” he continued. “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.”
He added:” I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars. All (Styles) has to do is be white and straight.”
