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Looking back on everything that happened in 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, the Australian wildfires – it’s amazing to think that someone made a fuss about Harry Styles in a dress. During a Dec. 27 appearance on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, Liam Payne was asked his thoughts on Harry’s outfit on the cover of Vogue, and Liam, 27, applauded his One Direction mate. “Oh, I thought it was great. I think he’s enjoying himself, and he’s free to do as he wishes. There’s been a lot more stuff going on this year than whether or not he’s wearing the ‘right’ clothes in someone else’s mind.”
the way @LiamPayne just popped @Harry_Styles on the Nice List for all 👏 the 👏 right 👏 reasons. pic.twitter.com/CxKlvyXh2A
— Capital (@CapitalOfficial) December 27, 2020
Liam also spoke about how Harry has maintained a genuine sense of self, despite being one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. “He’s never really lost himself, even in spite of everything,” Liam said on Capital Breakfast. “After the band [went on hiatus], we didn’t speak for a long time actually, and then I remember seeing him, it was actually at a Jingle Bell Ball, backstage for the first time in a long time. He’s still the same guy he always was when we left each other in that dressing room as the band kind of stopped for a little bit.”
The only person who seemed to object to Harry’s December Vogue cover was Candace Owens. The conservative commentator clutched her pearls while sharing pictures of Harry in a dress, decrying the end of Western civilization as we know it. “There is no society that can survive without strong men,” she wrote. “The steady feminization of our men…is an outright attack.” Ben Shapiro — another conservative commentator, best known for getting mocked by Twitter for his outrage over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” – said that Harry’s cover was “a referendum on masculinity for men to don floofy dresses.”
Harry ultimately responded to Candace’s hate with a little bit of playful shade. On Dec. 2, Harry shared a picture of himself in the frilly, baby blue suit he wore for his Variety Hitmakers issue. In the pic, the “Watermelon Sugar” star is eating a banana, almost suggestively. “Bring back manly men,” he captioned the shot, which left fans claiming Harry “ended” Candace.
“To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes,” Harry said in Variety’s Hitmakers issue. “And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”