Harry Styles Rejects Queerbaiting Accusations

“Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone,” Styles said, reflecting on speculation of how he identifies. “If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.”

Styles, who has been dating Olivia Wilde since January 2021, is often likened to David Bowie and Mick Jagger for his flamboyant fashion that skirts gender norms. However, many on the internet have been calling him out for allowing fans to believe he is queer so that he can profit off of the aesthetic while failing to claim the community.

Nonetheless, Styles isn’t budging on keeping his public and private life separate, though he noted that, “other people blur the lines for you.” Even Wilde has been dragged by the dark corners of his fandom.

For the singer who has helped people come out to their parents at concerts, his defenders support the boundaries he draws around his love life.

While Styles is yet to answer yes or no to whether he is queer, he did have a lot more to say about gay sex. Aside from his role opposite Florence Pugh in Don't Worry My Darling,which is directed by Wilde, his growing acting resume will include the leading role as a policeman who falls in love with a museum curator at a time when same-sex relationships were illegal in the U.K.

Speaking generally, Styles said, “So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it.” Though his source of knowledge on gay sex in film is unclear, he believes his upcoming film, the Michael Grandage-directed My Policeman, stands in contrast. He said it tells a universal story “about love and about wasted time.”

Related | Frat Boy Harry Is Back

For the film that makes its premiere late this summer, Styles alluded to his own personal reflection that came from making it. He said, “I think everyone, including myself, has your own journey with figuring out sexuality and getting more comfortable with it.”

In the end, though Styles covered his tour, new films, relationship with Wilde, and more in the intimate interview, he did not settle the queerbaiting debate.

Photo by Debby Wong/ Shutterstock