Billy Porter Calls Anna Wintour ‘A B—-,’ Says Harry Styles ‘Vogue’ Cover ‘Doesn’t Feel Good’

Billy Porter shared his thoughts on Harry Styles being the first solo male to appear on the cover of Vogue. Styles, who appeared wearing a dress, was in the fashion magazine’s December 2020 issue.

Porter said Styles was able to make the cover because he is “white and straight.”

He continued, “It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to elevate you. You haven’t had to sacrifice anything.”

Porter then shared that before the cover was released, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, asked him in what direction to take the magazine. “That b—- said to me at the end, ‘How can we do better?’ And I was so taken off guard that I didn’t say what I should have said,” he said.

Thinking about it now, Porter said he should have told Wintour to use her authority to “uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement.” In Porter’s view, examples like Styles prove that this did not happen.

Porter later clarified that he doesn’t blame Styles but instead places responsibility on “the gatekeepers” who have the power to make key decisions.

“I was the first one doing [nonbinary fashion] and now everybody is doing it,” Porter said in a 2021 interview with The Sunday Times. “[Styles] doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life.”

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Porter received backlash for his comments. He later further explained himself on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where he said the main issue is about the “erasure of people of color who contribute to the culture.” He then apologized to Styles, saying, “I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean no harm. I’m a gay man. We like Harry. He’s cute.”