Harry Styles does not understand why fans are so fascinated with his sex life.
Throughout his solo career, Styles has made headlines for shirking sartorial gender norms and sparked online debates about “queerbaiting” for remaining mum on his sexuality. While some fans emphatically believe the “As It Was” singer doesn't owe anyone an explanation and deserves to have his privacy respected, others have criticised Styles for profiting off queer culture while keeping himself separated from the community, particularly when it comes to his dating history and his beauty brand, Pleasing.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Harry Styles is addressing the criticism head-on. “I’ve never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it’s benefited me positively,” he said. “There’s always going to be a version of a narrative, and I think I just decided I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to correct it or redirect it in some way.”
From addressing his sexuality to revealing his self-care routine, the singer-songwriter turned actor got candid.
Styles continued, “Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone. If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.”
While Styles insists he has never “publicly been with anyone,” it's no secret that he is currently dating director-actor Olivia Wilde. The pair met on the set of her latest directorial project, Don't Worry Darling, and were linked romantically after being photographed holding hands in January 2021. Ever since, Wilde has faced backlash for their age gap, past comments, and more.
In his Rolling Stone interview, Styles called Twitter “a shitstorm of people trying to be awful to people” and says attacks on his partners “obviously doesn’t make me feel good.” He continued, “It’s obviously a difficult feeling to feel like being close to me means you’re at the ransom of a corner of Twitter or something. I just wanted to sing. I didn’t want to get into it if I was going to hurt people like that.”
Wilde, however, believes the “toxic negativity” being discussed only comes from a small minority of Styles's vocal fandom. “What I don’t understand about the cruelty you’re referencing is that that kind of toxic negativity is the antithesis of Harry, and everything he puts out there,” she told Rolling Stone. “I don’t personally believe the hateful energy defines his fan base at all. The majority of them are true champions of kindness.”
Article originally appeared in GLAMOUR US.
