Harry Styles publicly expresses his support for women and the LGBTQ community. In 2014, he tweeted his support for #HeForShe, an organization for gender equality and female empowerment. He regularly incorporates rainbow flags into his concerts, even more so since the dispersion of One Direction. So if he’s so “woke,” then why is he silent when it comes to Black Lives Matter?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Harry Styles as much as the next teenage girl. I bought every One Direction CD, went to as many concerts as I could, saw the movies, owned the merch. This isn’t to attack him, this is simply to ask a question: Why?
Styles has not once used his powerful platform to bring awareness to Black Lives Matter in the four years since the movement started.
At a recent concert in London, audience members were given out signs that read “Black Lives Matter.”
https://twitter.com/harryzvogue/status/924771125187497984
An audience member even threw a BLM flag on stage, although Styles didn’t pick it up.
Some fans are taking to Twitter saying that Styles is very good at spotting fans who pass out but seemingly ignored the signs.
https://twitter.com/hsgIoss/status/924771757596299264
https://twitter.com/sonderhes/status/924797140957847553
In an interview with the New York Times in May, Styles was asked if any “outside chaos” (Brexit, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump) influenced the album, the former-One Direction member gave a vague answer.
Styles said “Sign of the Times” is looking at “several different things.” When asked about what kind of things, he responded with “everything you [the interviewer] were talking about.”
Kind of vague, isn’t it, Harry?
Some fans are using the excuse of Styles not being American is a reason he hasn’t spoken about the movement, but even Justin Bieber, a Canadian, posted a photo on Instagram in support of BLM:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZWloG-D-O1/
In addition to this, it’s not just American Black lives that matter — it’s all Black lives.
Styles doesn’t hesitate to vocalize his support for women and LGBTQ people, which are both causes for people to be treated like normal humans, so what makes Black Lives Matter any different?
One fan even pointed out how Black Lives Matter can mean the same to one person as a pride flag may mean to another:
https://twitter.com/pezlarrie/status/924765660596420609
Fans remain torn. Some just simply think that Styles didn’t see the signs or the flags, while others believe that he just simply ignores the movement.
The excuse of calling BLM “too political” is too overdone — isn’t supporting LGBTQ rights picking sides then? What makes one less political than the other?
Styles and other celebrities need to use their platforms to talk about things deemed “too political.” It’s how to get the conversation going.
