Skip to main content

Home News News World

23 August 2022 3:51 PM

Harry Styles asked to ‘level up’ after criticism over comments on gay sex scenes and sexuality

The 'As It Was' singer's comments in a Rolling Stone interview have drawn the ire of fans.

By Alastair James

Words: Alastair James; pictures: Rolling Stone

Harry Styles’ is drawing some flack after his latest comments on gay sex scenes in movies as well as comments on sexuality and his journey with it.

Speaking in the latest issue of Rolling Stone UK, the singer, 28, spoke of his role in the upcoming gay romance drama, My Policeman.

“So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it,” he says adding that he and director, Michael Grandage, wanted to show scenes that were “tender and loving and sensitive.”

Photo: Amanda Fordyce for Rolling Stone

As is the way with social media these days, it wasn’t long before this quote, as well as several others was plastered across the internet and some people have taken issue with it.

One person guessed the quote was based on a prompt from My Policeman‘s producers and was repurposed by the ‘Late Night Talking’ singer.

In a TikTok, they argued that the quote “demonstrates a lack of understanding and engagement with the queer community and queer media on Harry’s part. 

“Anyone who engages with queer movie, fan fiction, [and] books knows that there’s a tonne of tenderness in a lot of gay male romances and I think he’s going to need to start doing better. I think he needs to do a little bit better.”

They finished with, “We love you [Harry] but you gotta level up here. Watch some cool shit. read some fan-fiction.”

@saxamophone C’mon Harry, read some fanfic, we have recs 😉 #harrystyles #fanfcition #hslot #queer #🏳️‍🌈 ♬ original sound – saxamophone

Similarly, another person said the comments from Styles demonstrate some “cracks in the queer foundation of Harry Styles.” 

They added: “If he digested queer media he would know that that wasn’t true and I feel like he would’ve said something smarter.”

@name3songs #stitch with @saxamophone the queer facade is cracking & im annoyed #harrystyles #slashfiction #queermedia #popculturenews #musicnews #popculture #mypolicemanharry #mypoliceman #queercinema #queerfilms ♬ original sound – Name 3 Songs

Other critics pointed to films such as Call Me By Your Name and Moonlight which feature no such explicit sex scenes.

There’s arguably more of a case for this viewpoint when it comes to TV. The US version of Queer As Folk never shyed away from gay sex, but so much of gay sex in TV and film is still sanitized or hidden in one way or another if not completely. 

Picking up on this thread one person wrote that Harry’s comment is “crazy to me,” because “Most sex scenes are suggested or inexistent”.

Other users of social media have chastised the ‘As It Was’ singer for giving an unsolicited opinion on gay sex at all. 

Elsewhere in his Rolling Stone interview, Harry discusses sexuality saying, “everyone, including myself, has your own journey with figuring out sexuality and getting more comfortable with it.”

He also addresses accusations of ‘queer-baiting’.

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

Someone described Styles as “the most successful queer-baiter” while someone else blasted the interview as “a very good example of white man trying to be different because they have no other interesting quality”

My Policeman sees Styles star as Tom, a policeman caught between his relationships with the teacher, Marion (Emma Corrin), and the museum curator, Patrick (David Dawson)

The film is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before arriving in UK cinemas in October.

The Attitude September/October issue is out now.

In This Article: