‘Pose’ actor initially said in 2020 that all Styles had to do to break barriers was ‘be white and straight’

Billy Porter has responded to criticism he received about Harry Styles becoming the first male cover star of US Vogue.

At the time, the former One Direction singer appeared on the cover of the fashion magazine in a Gucci dress.

Porter, best known for his role in the hit TV series Pose, shared in an interview with The Sunday Times that he had some issues with Vogue’s decision to feature Styles, with the actor claiming that all the singer had to do to break the barrier was “be white and straight”.

“I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it,” he said. “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.

“I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars,” Porter added. “All [Styles] has to do is be white and straight.”

Porter is known for his gender-neutral style. He wore an iconic tuxedo, custom-made by designer Christian Siriano, to the 2019 Oscars. At the Met Gala that same year, he wore a winged Cleopatra-inspired yellow catsuit and arrived at the event in a golden palanquin carried by six shirtless men.

“Watermelon Sugar” singer Styles regularly performs in gender-neutral clothing, and told US Vogue in his cover story: “Clothes are there to be fun, to experiment, to play with. What’s really fun is that all these lines are just falling apart. There’s so much fun in playing with clothes.”

“I never really thought too much about what it meant — it just became an extension of creating something,” he added.

Billy Porter wearing the tuxedo dress and Harry Styles (Getty)

After making his initial comments, Porter issued an apology to Styles live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, telling the camera: “Harry Styles, I apologise to you for having your name in my mouth.

“It’s not about you. The conversation is not about you.”

Porter went on to explain that the conversation is “deeper,” as it is actually about “the systems of oppression and erasure of people of colour, who contribute to the culture”.

After acknowledging that there is a lot to “unpack” regarding the topic, Porter noted that he is willing to do so as long as it is without the interference of “the cancel culture of the internet”.

“I’m willing to unpack it, sans the dragging and cancel culture of the internet, because I do not now, nor will ever, adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media,” he said. “So when you’re ready to have the real conversation, call a b****. OK? I’m ready to have it!”

Months before the Harry Styles Vogue cover was revealed, Porter had participated in a Q&A with Anna Wintour in front of Condé Nast staff.

“That b**** 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.”

Now, looking back, Porter reflected on what he wished he had said: “Use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement.”

However, as Porter reflected: “Six months later, Harry Styles is the first man on the cover.”

“It’s not Harry Styles’s fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way … I call out the gatekeepers,” he said.

Porter now doesn’t claim to be “the first” to push against gender stereotypes in fashion.

“I know David Bowie existed, I know Sylvester existed,” he told the publication.

Porter added that Styles is “white and he’s straight”, which explains why “he’s on the cover”.

“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,” he said.