Billy Porter is calling out Vogue, particularly the Harry Styles cover issue that saw the singer wearing a dress. Noting that since he was actually “the first one doing it,” and by it he means proudly rocking such attire and breaking gender norms, he found the historic moment a bit disappointing.
Though Billy has publicly spoken about normalizing men wearing dresses and rarely hits a red carpet not wearing one, it was the "Watermelon Sugar" singer that made waves as the first solo male to grace American Vogue, donning a Gucci gown and other dresses and skirts.
So during a recent interview with The Sunday Times, when the Pose star was asked what he thought about the praise Styles received for posing on the cover of the famed publication in a dress, he didn’t hold back.
“I changed the whole game,” Billy claimed. “I. Personally. Changed. The. Whole. Game. And that is not ego, that is just fact. I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it.”
“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to. I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why,” he added. “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.”
"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,” Billy continued.
While Styles has not publicly labeled his sexuality, he has been a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. And when it comes to his at times questioned wardrobe and style — as he explained to Vogue, ee doesn't like "limiting" himself when it comes to clothing, as he uses fashion as a form of expression.
As for Billy — “This is politics for me. This is my life,” he said. “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.”
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram