Billy porter slams harry styles and vogue cover controversy

Billy Porter continues to express his distaste for Harry Styles’ historic Vogue cover.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Billy claimed that Harry had been chosen to be the first man to land a solo cover for Vogue because he’s “white and straight”.

Harry who appeared in Vogue's December publication issue in 2020 in a lacy Gucci gown and a Wales Bonner kilted skirt, among other boundary-smashing looks, was the first male to break the gender barrier and norm and express gender fluidity in his dressing on Vogue.

However, Billy Potter the black-american fashion icon who has for years identified as a gender fluid activist and red carpet Icon did not take this publication well. In his exact words “Non-binary blah blah blah blah. No. 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.”

Just so you know, Harry styles has not officially labeled his sexuality or identity over the years or hinted tilting towards a certain sexuality even on social media. But he has had romantic relationship with multiple women which media outlets have captured and has never showed interest in having any romantic relationship with the male gender.

Which is why Potter boldly stated that Harry was white and straight hence not the right person to portray gender fluidity. Billy’s harshest criticisms, however, were directed at “the gatekeepers” that allowed Harry to appear on the cover of Vogue, rather than the pop star himself. And he pin pointed the  magazine’s longtime editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour as the main culprit.

According to the Emmy winner, before the Vogue December 2020 unveiling, he had met with Anna for an interview six months prior. During the Q&A, which took place in front of staff at Vogue’s publisher Condé Nast, Billy claims Anna asked for his input on how to approach the rise of gender-fluid fashion.

“That bitch 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,” he recalled. If I had known what was being planned at the publication, he said his answer would have been “use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement”.

Representatives for Vogue did not immediately respond to request from news outlets to either refute or affirm Billy's comment.

Billy who is currently promoting a new album, Black Mona Lisa previously called out Harry and Vogue in a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times. In the interview he said:

“I created the conversation [about gender-fluid fashion] and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time,”

“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. 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.”

Just weeks later, Billy clarified his remarks while appearing on The Late Show.

“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.”