Harry Styles grimaced as he informed the audience that he was "conscious of his privilege" when no female performers were nominated for the Best Artist Award at the 2023 Brit Awards on Saturday. Needless to say, he has mixed feelings about this win. That said, it was not that a long time ago when he was the one complaining about not receiving awards, leading to certain backlash.
His present comments followed an outcry over the decision to make the prize gender-neutral instead of having separate male and female categories. Clutching his gong, Harry told the assembled crowd that he's really, very grateful for this and extremely mindful of his privilege to be up there.
He then mentioned additional qualified female performers who were present that evening but were not nominated for the category.
His acknowledgment occurred after Charli XCX had vehemently criticized the lack of women representation during an interview on the red carpet prior to the start of the performance.
"I heard the reason is... the Brits felt that there weren't enough women in the album cycle, but I was in the album cycle and had a number one, critically acclaimed album," she ranted.
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Last week at the Grammys, Harry drew criticism when he stated that "those like him" rarely had the chance to win an award.
Despite being a British musician and not a member of America's native talent pool, he got one of the night's highest honors for his album Harry's House at the presentation in Los Angeles.
Beyonce, whose album Renaissance was anticipated by many fans to win, was one of his competitors.
Referring to the ten rivals in the category, Harry modestly remarked, "I've been so inspired by every artist in this category with me. A lot of different times in my life, I've listened to everyone in this category when I'm alone."
On nights like that, it is crucial to remember that there is no such thing as "best" in music, he added.
However, his subsequent remark infuriated some, who slammed him on social media for failing to "acknowledge his privilege" as a white male.
Guess he learned his lesson?
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