Critics of the the “As It Was” singer have regularly levelled the argument that Styles ‘queerbaits’ – adopts a queer looks for profit without labelling himself as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Styles has rejected this sentiment in a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
“Sometimes people say: ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone,” he said.
“If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.
Styles has also previously stated he does not feel the need for labels and boxes for everyone’s identity.
On the topic of privacy, he told the magazine: “I’ve never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it’s benefited me positively.”
The former One Direction singer is playing a gay man in upcoming romantic drama My Policeman. He told Rolling Stone that the role forced him to further his own understanding of sexuality.
“I think everyone, including myself, has your own journey with figuring out sexuality and getting more comfortable with it,” he said.
He also commented on the portrayal of gay sex in cinema, saying: “So much of gay sex in film is two guys going at it, and it kind of removes the tenderness from it … [but it can be] tender and loving and sensitive”.
Harry Styles’s sexuality has been a topic of speculation for years.
Much like Prince, David Bowie and Mick Jagger before him, he freely embraces gender fluidity in his clothing and appeared on Vogue as the first male in a dress in December of 2021.
This appearance drew its own controversy, with actor Billy Porter launching a blistering critique of Styles as a “straight white man” in a dress. He later apologised.