Tony-winning singer and actor Billy Porter is a notable LGBTQ+ advocate and icon. Aside from being a versatile actor and a great singer, Porter is also known to be a very outspoken person.
Porter made history in 2019 at the Emmy Awards when he became the first black gay man to be nominated and win the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for portraying Pray Tell in "Pose."
Billy Porter, Harry Styles Feud
In an interview in The Telegraph, The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-winning artist shared and explained his thoughts on Harry Styles being the first man to cover the popular fashion magazine "Vogue."
Porter was particularly blunt in his explanation, saying that it didn't feel good to him.
"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," he told the publication.
Styles also received a mountain of backlash on the said career stride, with many criticizing him for wearing a dress on the said cover. While the cause of many's criticisms of Styles was rooted in homophobia and against gender fluidity, Porter's distaste seemed to be different.
"I'm not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you're going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn't care, he's just doing it because it's the thing to do," he said.
For Porter, the idea of having Styles as the first man to cover the magazine was more than just a magazine record.
"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. All he has to do is be white and straight," he explained to The Sunday Times.
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Billy Porter Disses Anna Wintour, Harry Styles
Prior to the release of Harry Styles' Vogue Magazine cover, Porter recalled speaking to its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. In their conversation, he was asked for suggestions on which way to lead the magazine.
"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 elaborated to The Telegraph.
He initially suggested to Wintour to "use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement." However, to his disappointment, Styles graced the cover of Vogue months after their conversation.
