Billy Porter criticizes Harry Styles' historic Vogue cover: 'All he has to do is be white and straight.'

oh shut up. maybe you didn't get roles because you're not a very good actor

what a big fat bitter bitch

Billy takes himself a little too seriously, but at least when he wears a dress, he makes sure it fits. Styles just looked silly.

He's a fucking freak minstrel show.

He's not wrong but ultimately it's unimportant who started wearing dresses first. I do think he sounds articulate.

He always needs to be the center of attention.

this dizzy bitch thinks he's the first man to wear a dress.

He seems to mistake wearing a dress for having an interesting personality.

[quote] It wasn't until the Netflix series "Pose," for which Porter won an Emmy in 2019

A program almost totally ignored by the viewing public

[quote] "I created the conversation (about non-binary fashion)

Uh-huh.

It did well with its demographic.

Almost no gay shows do well in ratings.

yes yes yes r10 now shut up Billy

Billy better not call Harry straight. His fangirls on Twitter will come for him

He really is a trailblazer, that Billy Porter!

He's right

He’s right but once again he’s insufferable. All I hear is negative things out of his mouth, and if he’s going to do that, at least spin it with some sarcastic witty humor.

Once again I am asking. Does he say these things when asked by a reporter/interviewer or does he send out a press release?

[quote]I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to

they've accepted you. They don't have to like you

the trans movement has had the easiest, fastest time to acceptance of any other group and all the do is complain

His bio is titled Unprotected, and he got Aids having unprotected sex in his forties.

You mean like "Will & Grace"?

I like Billy's approach to his fashion, but sometimes I think he tries too hard.

If he’s trying to make me dislike him, he’s succeeded. I can’t stand the sight of this bitch anymore.

How does he know why Harry Styles dresses as he does?

Bitch, I rocked a miniskirt nearly two thousand years before you were born.

I’m for anyone who wears a birthday cake as a hat.

R19 wow. A whole ONE!!!

Billy actually makes some cogent points. Yes, of course, a straight (or, straight-perceived, at least) white man has more freedom to be expressive and flamboyant with fewer consequences. He can "cos-play" as fabulous and then go back to being a straight-laced white heterosexual. I think, with Styles, that might be a touch reductive. I'm not a huge fan of his, but he has a certain genuineness you don't see in the average boyband alum.

But, Billy misses a much broader point. Yes, Styles benefits from white, straight privilege, but thinking of the two of them as equals is ridiculous. Billy is OLD. Harry is young and a genuine superstar. Of course if (in some made up hypothetical situation,) there was a choice between them, Vogue would choose Harry.

Harry Styles is younger and thinner. There's no question who Vogue would put on its cover.

Harry Styles is a YUUUUUUGE. Why would Vogue bother with this trifling, tiresome old queen, regardless of color. I'd say he's on minute 14.

David Bowie, Prince, Elton John, Boy George ….all have worn dresses

What a truly annoying cunt. In whatever of his 50 trillion genders he is today.

Milton Berle was a brave pioneer.

No, Billy, you did not start the trend.

Harry Styles got other young men to wear dresses. AIDS ridden Queens like you have always worn dresses and no one cared. Harry got the young straight dudes to do it.

My Shakespeare performance in graduate school described Bottom (!) in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" thusly: "He wants to play ALL the parts!" I feel that way about Porter--and it's not endearing as it is with the bewitched rustic.

Big Bugs Bunny in drag vibes

Um, didn't Kurt Cobain do this way before Billy?

Tough shit!

[quote] AIDS ridden Queens like you

r31 you should go to hell

Could we stop denigrating him because he is HIV+? That is not cool.

Billy Porter...get over yourself. You're annoying and exhausting. And you're about to be canceled.

And Billy can bitch and moan all he wants about trends and roles but there's no need to call out Harry, and no one owes you a Vogue cover, honey.

Of all the reasons to hate Billy, being HIV+ is not one of them.

R32 here. Sorry, should be "Shakespeare performance professor"

Why wouldn't Harry be on the cover? Why does it have to be a gay guy? It's not a gay magazine. Should only gay men wear women's clothing? Is he equating wearing dresses with homosexuality? What's his stance on women wearing pants and t shirts?

Billy Porter almost destroyed his great singing voice many years ago by abusing it. I'm sure that had a LOT to do with why his career stalled for awhile. His voice was in such bad shape for that concert version of DREAMGIRLS that they apparently had to re-record all of most of his part for the cast album. It got to the point where his voice was so unreliable that he started taking non-musical roles for the first time, and he was actually excellent in an Off-Broadway revival of ANGELS IN AMERICA. Somehow, he got his voice back well enough to have a success in KINKY BOOTS, but I guess he doesn't sing much or at all anymore.

Harry Styles clearly appropriates gay culture to sell records.

[quote]Harry is young and a genuine superstar.

There are no genuine stars anymore. I haven't a fucking clue as to one song he sings. And nor do I really care.

R44 that doesn’t mean he isn’t a star dear.

The world doesn’t revolve around you.

Harry is English. Anna is English. Hamish is English. Grace is English.

[quote] the trans movement has had the easiest, fastest time to acceptance of any other group

That's not true at all. There have been people living their lives as the opposite gender for literally thousands of years.

I'm not a fan at all of the current US and UK trans movement, but when we complain about them we should at least be accurate.

R45 I can guarantee you a lot of people don't know him at all. Entertainment today allows you to be completely turned off from mainstream pop culture if you want to.

Billy should have just laughed it off.

So much hate for white people. I’m cancelling Billy Porter.

What about me, you bitches.

This was 1999! Twenty two years ago. These nouveau guys are slackers.

This was 28 years ago.

Imagine being Billy Porter thinking you invented drag. This guy's a fucking idiot.

Jealousy is ugly Billy and so are your getups

When did Porter start routinely wearing “female“ attire? He’s been around for 30 years. Was he doing it before the huge trans movement the last year or two? I’m not sure I consider this revolutionary at this point.

Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon more commonly referred to as Lord Cornbury, was the first-cross-dressing Governor of New York and New Jersey, opened the NY Assembly in drag way back1702 New York; here's his portrait at the NY Historical Society. Suck it, Billy Porter!

This one may be at the Historical Society -- they look fairly similar.

[quote]He's not wrong but . . .

Ugh. Can we please ban this phrase from DL?

And actually, he IS wrong.

He is actually RIGHT. Good for him.

Looks like a get-up Ricky and Fred would trick Lucy and Ethel into wearing.

Billy's get-ups are tiresome.

However, I love Orville Peck and Big Freedia's approach to fashion.

R48 he just sold out MSG for 5 nights in NYC.

He’s known.

Miss Billy Porter is a jealous bitter old queen who looks like Lil' Nas X's great-grandfather and needs to sit down. Also Harry Styles most definitely is not straight. He's sucked and ridden far too many cocks for that to be possible.

R61 I can’t stand Orville! I think there’s just nothing there. It’s just Roy Orbison karaoke with a couple of distractions thrown on top. And everyone’s supposed to be like “oh wow a gay country singer” lolol.

That eyeshadow is a bit much, even for me.

Billy, you can go the fuck away now. Please.

I'm fascinated by how he's simultaneously so talented, so thirsty, and yet so supremely unlovable.

The Porter-Styles feud is the Takei-Shatner feud to the under 90 set.

It's sad, really. He sounds like a bitter old cougar in a bar raging with jealousy because the young, hot women are getting all the attention from men.

R69 what a weird misogynistic comparison to make.

I used to admire him, but now he just sounds bitter and entitled.

I wouldn't call him Aids face, or mock his status if he hadn't contracted HIV in his forties. And then try to do some stupid 'I'm empowered by this' utter bullshit. Just use a condom, and do not expect us to revel in how marvelous you are, when you cannot even adult yourself in the most simplest of ways.

He gets no parade. he gets no praise. He gets mocked. That is all he deserves, the self obsessed fuckwit.

[quote]He just sold out MSG for 5 nights in NYC.

Who did?

Oh, sorry, I looked back through the thread and realized you meant it was Harry Styles who sold out MSG. At first I thought you meant Billy Porter, and I was, like, "What the hell did he DO at MSG, since he can't really sing anymore?"

What he always does, r74. He would pose and pose and complain and complain.

He's jealous because people find Harry sexy, he's younger, he's got a bigger fan base than Billy will ever have, and Harry has a more successful music career than Billy, whose music career flopped.

Billy sounds ungrateful and petty and jealous, when he should be happy with his Emmy and that he can still get press from wearing one of his insufferable outfits to the red carpets.

Monosodium glutamate is very popular. Why be surprised he sold it successfully?

I don't give a shit about Harry Styles. He is a mediocre talent who trades on being a young White "straight-ish" male.

Billy is absolutely right about getting less opportunities being an out gay Black male. That is all true.

But the dress thing? Gurrrl pleeeease!

Vogue put Harry Styles on the cover because it was newsworthy.

It has nothing to do with Billy's race.

What is newsworthy about putting a FLAMBOYANT openly gay homosexual male on the cover in a dress?

Honey you know damn well many gay men wear dresses. That's not newsworthy. Billy's gowns are elegant, but is that reason enough to give him a cover? How would they even choose which gay man to put on the cover and what would be newsworthy about that?

In one of Billy's most famous roles he dressed in full drag, Kinky Boots. Billy would have been a poor choice for a cover.

She is grasping at straws here.

Miss Billy Porter is the type of bitter jealous old queen who sits alone at the bar all night downing drink after drink while giving everyone else dirty looks and loudly insulting them every 10 seconds.

Definitely r79! We've all known the type.

I find Porter tiresome, and his argument he's some kind of pioneer is ridiculous, but I will say at least when he's dressing up he's wearing the outfits. With Styles it always looks like the clothes are wearing him.

And "historic Vogue cover"? Please.

There's haute couture, there's prêt-à-porter, and then there's billy-porter.

A circus clown is upset. Awww.

Billy always looks like he's smelling his own farts.

Billy definitely didn't "start" this shit, and he's always been up his own ass...but, that being said, he's kind of right on this one.

[quote]What is newsworthy about putting a FLAMBOYANT openly gay homosexual male on the cover in a dress?

Is an openly gay homosexual male anything like a prostitution whore?

Both points are true imo. Harry would not be getting the same attention if he was actually gay. They arent putting Troye Sivan on the cover of Vogue are they? A straight guy throwing some cumbs to the 2010's version of gender fuckery is hardly that impressive.

But Billy is also a bitter old queen who thinks he is faaaaaar more famous and important than he is. And why do all these famous gay black guys who spend half their careers talking about ingrained racism within either the entertainment industry or gay community ALL have white BFs/husbands? They all do.

Has Roxane waded into this one yet?

R87 Why would they put the gay guy in a dress on the cover? What does make sexuality had to do with wearing dresses? Are you saying only gay men should be allowed to wear female dresses? Or that gays are womanly men?

Has anyone ever seen Billy Porter laugh or smile? For that reason alone. I can't stand this person.

He’s giving “I am the architect of rock and roll.”

[quote]”I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it," he said.

Excuse me, you stupid bitch?!

I guess this dumb bitch never heard of Divine, who was wearing dresses back in the 60’s.

Why is he pretending this never happened before (men dressing flamboyantly.) Has he never heard of glam rock?

[quote] And why do all these famous gay black guys who spend half their careers talking about ingrained racism within either the entertainment industry or gay community ALL have white BFs/husbands? They all do.

I was just thinking this too! You see this all the time.

R89 What are you, an idiot? The point is that gay men have been the pioneers and architects of fucking over traditional gender norms, but the credit is never given to us. No one is saying that is reflective of all gay men though.

[quote] What does make sexuality had to do with wearing dresses?

Work on your English sweetie. By the way, how is 'make weather' over there in Russia?

Oh dear lord, will this whinging never end?

I want it to turn out that Billy Porter goes by just Bill back at home, with his biologically female wife and 5 kids. Somewhere in Iowa.

R96 "The point is that gay men have been the pioneers and architects of fucking over traditional gender norms"

Except they haven't, you braindead moron.

R98 He has an average looking face that looks silly in makeup, like the Fedex guy done up in drag because he lost a bet.

Sorry, but Billy Porter is black and gay. He was given opportunities that 99.9999999% of straight white men will never get. Does he realize how ridiculous his argument is?

I mean...men wearing dresses? Not for me but knock yourself out.

I think he would have a point IF the issue was about men wearing dresses, but it’s a piece about Styles and his “bravery” for breaking traditional norms in fashion aka his lame attempt at being David Bowie. I think Porter should save that criticism for something more meaningful.

The FUCK are you talking about R101. You have to be joking.

R103,

Did you even read the OP? BP said all HS had to do was be straight and white. BP has been handed more freebies and nearly any other straight white man in the world. It’s disingenuous to pretend that he’s at a disadvantage because of his race and sexuality.

I Googled Billy Porter's age. He's 52. That's your answer. Harry Styles is younger and attracts a more desirable demographic. If Porter were 20 years younger and had a bigger fanbase, he may have gotten a cover. This has nothing to do with race. Does anyone outside of NYC even know who Billy Porter is?

Styles has been lauded by Vogue as a fashion icon since he was 18. Anna Wintour was pictured at his MSG concert last week and went to one in 2018 too. Of course he was her choice for the first man to be on the cover of Vogue. He's put in the work and worn some truly sublime outfits over the years. Harry was only 26 at the time of the cover and far more attractive and successful than Billy Porter. I don't know why Billy waited a year to kick off.

Harry just got confirmed as Starfox, one of the Eternals in Marvel. Starfox is the most seductive superhero in MCU.

R104 I'm sorry, I couldn't IMAGINE anyone would be serious with that post. I would love for you to tell us how an effeminate, black gay man in his 50s has had 99.9999% more opportunities than a mega-rich, straight white male in his 20s.

P.S. Just to clarify, we get what you're doing, BUT I think this might be amusing.

Harry Styles has been featured in Vogue for the last ten years. They wanted him as the cover star and if he hadn't worn a dress he'd still have got the cover. Wintour is his fangirl and was at his NYC gig last week.

Dear Billy Porter, Go the fuck away. Please and thank you.

Billy, come back when you have the biggest grossing tour of 2021 like Harry does. 750k merch sales per night on top of that. Harry is an iconic figure of popular culture. Hugely popular in Australia, Europe, Latin America, Far East. Billy is unknown outside England and the US.

[quote] Miss Billy Porter is the type of bitter jealous old queen who sits alone at the bar all night downing drink after drink while giving everyone else dirty looks and loudly insulting them every 10 seconds.

And in just a few years, he and Jeremy O Harris can sit there next to each other, the Black old gay Statler and Waldorf of the last remaining gay bar on the Upper East Side, throwing mildly caustic shade at all the people who say they say reject them for their race or gender, rather than for their unappealing bitterness of their own damn selves.

R111

No, I don't think so my dear boy.

We do have some standards at Townhouse Bar, and they reflect the co-ops and communities we live in.....

Why won't Harry Styles stop his gay baiting bullshit and just go away?

[quote] By 2007, he was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Forced by his own choices.

Yay, it’s Datalounge Rags on a Gay Man Day!

aka Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Or pretty much every other day of the week.

Billy is always whining. Tiresome. Plus he has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome face. Those eyes!

[quote] With Styles it always looks like the clothes are wearing him.

You mushn't ever let the clothesh wear you!

Billy is only 52? Methinks Miss Jane Pittman is shaving a few years.

R79 You mean at the Copa? Copacabana?

R84 That's his smoldering supermodel look.

Bitter much?

Here's what R101 wrote about BP:

[quote]He was given opportunities that 99.9999999% of straight white men will never get.

And here's what the idiot at R107 turned it into:

[quote]I would love for you to tell us how an effeminate, black gay man in his 50s has had 99.9999% more opportunities than a mega-rich, straight white male in his 20s.

The FACT that Billy Porter has had many tremendous opportunities is evidenced by his fame and the current state of his career. And it could be argued that, at least in recent years, effeminate, black gay men have been given MORE opportunities than straight white men due to producers, directors, etc. bending over backwards in terms of "diversity."

Some people really like burning bridges, but I guess at his age, he probably ran out of fucks to give.

That said, I'm puzzled by this type of activism. Sure a black person wearing dreads may be asked to cut it and can be perceived as dirty while a white person won't, I've seen it, I get it. So what? What is this type of activism really trying to achieve? Hand-outs? A pity fuck? I don't get it. This type of "activism" is the reason LGBT acceptance has decreased in the last five years. People are tired of being the punching bag of mentally unstable people with a grudge.

We get it you have a hard time being whatever the fuck you are, but you aren't special. Most people are gonna be attacked by someone else at some point in life too. Get over it.

R113 How is he gay baiting? Why are you equating wearing women's clothes with being gay?

Vogue opened the door, so I don’t think BP is terribly off base. Once you put a man in a dress on your cover, every man in a dress thinks he’s entitled. Put a fat woman on your cover… you guessed it.

It's so idiotic to me he looks at this as if the cover of VOGUE were some sort of prize awarded by Anna Wintour to the most woke.

That's why he's absolutely not "kind of right on this one." He's wrong. The purpose of a magazine cover is to sell magazines, and that is it. Harry Styles is much more famous than Billy is, and is much more likely to sell copies since he's also much younger and appeals to a more youthful demographic.

people don't owe him or the trans community anything

[quote]Vogue opened the door, so I don’t think BP is terribly off base. Once you put a man in a dress on your cover, every man in a dress thinks he’s entitled. Put a fat woman on your cover… you guessed it.

Maybe you're joking, but if not, that's an....interesting way of looking at this. As if there were room on the cover of Vogue for EVERY man in a dress, EVERY fat woman, etc. Are we know judging representation of race, gender, etc. by who gets to be on the cover of Vogue? How idiotic.

I like Billy. I LOVED Pose and he was great in it (but Elektra stole the show for me). He does make some valid points...but he could do with making them in a more constructive way that doesn't come across so bitter. Like a lot have said already, age and current popularity likely played into the decision far more than any other factor, he is not comparing like for like so claiming it's because he's straight and white doesn't really work.

Nor does his claim that he 'created the conversation' as if he's the first man to ever wear a dress. Just comes across badly and it diminishes his accomplishments and the valid points he is making.

[quote]I like Billy.....He does make some valid points...but he could do with making them in a more constructive way that doesn't come across so bitter. Like a lot have said already, age and current popularity likely played into the decision far more than any other factor, he is not comparing like for like so claiming it's because he's straight and white doesn't really work. Nor does his claim that he 'created the conversation' as if he's the first man to ever wear a dress. Just comes across badly and it diminishes his accomplishments and the valid points he is making.

I agree with all of that 100 percent EXCEPT your comment that Billy "does make some valid points." As far as I'm concerned, the issues you cite render all of Billy's points invalid, even though some of them might be valid in other contexts and situations.

They both look silly wearing dresses acting like Velvet Underground, Bowie + Boy George never existed.

What's so remarkable about wearing dresses anyway. They're not meant for men, they're cut for women with big hips and breasts. Yes, they all look silly and you know it.

R131 Who in The Velvet Underground wore dresses? Not even Moe Tucker

Desperate thirst trap strikes again. Could someody explain the concept of diminishing returns to Billy? Because he is an embodiment of it with his endless bullshit, hollow rants. Has he ever posted about anything but himself?

Not only that, but the eyeshadow is two shades too electric blue for the hat. Doesn't she know that your eyeshadow should never be brighter that your hat? Jesus Fuck... bitch needs Anna Wintour on speed dial if he thinks he's gonna take the public by storm with his retro pyjama I raided mommy's makeup drawer again drag.

R128, I don’t think Harry Styles should be on the cover of Vogue, either! I think they should have beautiful supermodels, or maybe A-list (attractive) celebrities, starlets.

But once they change the criteria, they have changed the criteria; it’s open season. If you put a man in the cover, why not an elderly woman or fat Latina? We’re being INCLUSIVE!

I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is now.

You can't criticize me, because I was abused.

Isn’t there another publication that can put him on their cover?

Styles was part of one of the biggest boy bands in history, his solo album went to #1 in both the US and UK, he has appeared in major Hollywood films. Major concert draw, huge international profile. But yet it is solely that Styles is 'white and straight' (?) that landed him the Vogue cover? Please.

Is there any messy Pose alumna who is not seemingly determined to make themselves a liability? "When your talent wants a suite, you GIVE them a suite!"

[quote] Isn’t there another publication that can put him on their cover?

Is Famous Monsters still in print?

Any lesbian has more of a sense of humor than Billy Porter. His bitterness and constant whining are sure to cost him jobs. Who wants to work with that?

I never read Vogue so, why is it that you can't have a male on the cover?

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

I think the concensus is that Billy went a bit bonkers in his criticism of Vogue, but some of you are hitting way below the belt.

He can criticize the magazine cover and suggest that someone else would have been appropriate. That's fair. Anyone can say that.

But most of us agree that for him to say that the someone else for the cover should have been "ME" was pretty rich. And then him to compound his statements with flimsy and somewhat inaccurate reasons only made matters worse.

But for y'all to go in on his ages, his looks, his HIV status and try to discredit his accomplishments was a bit much.

He can sometimes be loud, annoying and (as in this case) wrong, but DAMN, some of y'all sound like you either hate gay men, or effeminate gay men, or Black men or all of the above.

You must be new here, R 142. If so, welcome to DL and fuck off.

Someone show R142 the way out. He stumbled into the wrong alley.

r144 you can tell by the use of the "y'alls".

The first man in a dress to get an American fashion magazine cover was Boy George on the cover of Cosmopolitan, way back in 1984. And he looked FABULOUS.

Someone's pissed because Anna didn't return their calls about wanting to be on the cover of Vogue. It'll be surprising if he's invited to next year's Met Gala.

This is how you get your point across - with charm and intelligence.

R143

Pick up your check. You're fired! LOL

Being straight and white didn't seem to do much for Harry Styles when that Vogue issue of him in a dress received a lot of backlash. Right wing loons had a field day with it. Talking their usual gibberish "This is the end of western civilisation!" "Harry isn't a real man" and so on. People seem to have forgotten that. Even his mom had to come out and defend him.

Harry is British! Why not put an American on American Vogue?

Hate the brits in America. What's wrong with the UK. Everyone always come to America.

Billy is an embarrassment to gay men - a total circus clown.

He's definitely a circus clown.

Makes me wish that guys like Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine would just come out already. We need more regular, normal guys in the public eye instead of attention whore freaks like Billy Porter.

And I'm not knocking all drag queens or effeminate mine, mind you. Boy George for example was and continues to be utterly fabulous.

Everyone loved Boy George.

Or effeminate MEN, I meant to say.

When can we get an edit function on this ghetto forum?

That Billy is a jealous and petty little bitch. You'd almost think he's following the stereotype of a gay man.

I think Billy may be a little miffed that he finally arrived at 52 and has to compete with someone half his age. It's tough out there as you get older.

R153 I see how you slammed the black guy and elevated the white guys.

Like a true white supremacist.

An attention whore freak is an attention whore freak r158. Not everything is about race. Frankie Grande is also an annoying attention whore freak, but this thread is about Billy Porter.

[quote]I don’t think Harry Styles should be on the cover of Vogue, either! I think they should have beautiful supermodels, or maybe A-list (attractive) celebrities, starlets. But once they change the criteria, they have changed the criteria; it’s open season. If you put a man in the cover, why not an elderly woman or fat Latina? We’re being INCLUSIVE!

Fine, but that doesn't mean that any PARTICULAR elderly woman or fat Latina or gender-bending attention whore like Billy Porter is more entitled to be on the cover than the person who was chosen. Get it???????

Billy Porter is damaged. Whoever fucked him when he was young really did a number on him.

Just listening to him speak even once, you can hear the chip on his shoulder and his many defense mechanisms. You don't have to be a shrink to see it.

Add to that his cartoonish behavior. He is not trans. Nor is he even just an effeminate gay man. He is an attention whore screaming "I am a freak, look at me." It often comes across as narcissistic but it is actually a cry for help and evidence of low self esteem.

He rants about being a proud gay Black man but seems to want nothing to do with the Black experience except to say he's being discriminated against. His world is White. He married a White man and surrounds himself with White yes men and White yes women who affirm him in his psychosis.

He is mentally ill.

R158 is why DL is going downhill....fast.

How's Billy's new book selling???

Another thing that's not being discussed is how his use of "non-binary fashion" is not really what's going on in either the Styles' cover or BP's general public persona. The cover and subsequent pictures of Styles hardly exhibited non-binary fashion. It was basically a young, cool attractive dude in a dress that was designed to be worn by women. And although some were feminine pieces, it's not as if Styles was decked out as a girl at a debutante ball. IIRC the cover was him in a long dress wearing a biker jacket, basically looking like a dude in just an odd piece of clothing. On some level, I see that image (a young, hot and talented guy who does't care he's in a dress, but still a guy) as something younger Gen Z's thinking is cool and provocative. However, it being described as an exposé of non-binary fashion is simply ridiculous. And as others have dutifully pointed out, nothing in the cover was ground-breaking or novel. It was just a cool, popular dude in a ladies clothing,

BP on the other hand is being disingenuous by declaring himself a purveyor of non-binary fashion and being passed over for the cover. No, that dude just straight up dresses as a woman. There's nothing non-binary about him; he's basically a drag queen when he's out in public. Further, his public persona is garish and campy, not what anyone would consider fashionable in line with Vogue. Yes, what he wears would look fabulous and high-end on a woman, but not some old gay dude. And let's face it, his persona is just not something the general American public is gonna latch onto any time soon. What he's describing as non-binary is just simply inaccurate and false.

Anyway, Billy's not the first. Not by a long shot.

[quote]Now Porter is a red carpet regular, wearing eye-catching looks that push the conversation around gender and style forward...

Now Porter is a red carpet regular, wearing eye-catching looks that push the conversation around gender and style into a ditch...a tired ass ditch!

[quote]Now Porter is a red carpet regular, wearing eye-catching looks that push the conversation around gender and style forward

I was pushing that conversation forward 70 years ago.

Why ever would a man in a dress be compelling, or important? It's just tiresome stunting, even when the extremely difficult and needy Billy Porter does it.

I mean, really, who does it advance? Men look silly in dresses! It is not nearly the "brave and stunning" statement Billy Porter thinks it is.

Before "Kinky Boots" (a lousy show) Billy was just a screechy gay male Broadway singer. A LOT of people had already sworn off working with him again, which caused his money woes. He decided to get on the popular Gender Queer/Gender Identity Movement bandwagon because he is opportunistic and thought it could take him somewhere. It has. None of this "non-binary" shit is who he ever was. Billy is just another less likable Dawn Davenport. He LOVES the flashbulbs!

R99 Ok, so if I'm such a "brain dead moron", tell me how you know better? Who have been the real pioneers of fucking over gender norms? What have 'some' gay men been doing all this time in terms of self-expression and gay culture? What's the "right kind" of gay man? Since you seem to know better...

R151 Do you even know where the earliest Americans came from?

r151 Do you even know where the editor-in-chief of American VOGUE comes from?

Yes I do, but neither one if them are American. I think Anna is half American, but still.

Harry is not American. It doesn't matter where the earliest Americans came from. He's British not American. There's nothing for him and other brits and Aussies too for that matter. They're all fucking annoying to see and hear.

Oh shut up r172

Well, Billy is right. Gay-baiting is so lame, in a few years we will say it’s so 2020, and people will laugh at Harry Styles, who is severely abusing this now trend.

It was transgressive during Bowie era, at 80s. Right now is obviously just a fashionable publicity.

R173 You do the same Bitch!

Was this the goal? To get to a certain level of respectability may prestige and honor, and then start sniping at other artists, producers, and society and treating them just like he was or that they are somehow “beneath” his ideals?

If I was hiring for a new movie, I wouldn’t bother with Billy because what he’s doing is NO different than what Trump does-

Shaming, belittling, embarrassing and ridiculing others- at the same time showing his insecurity, narrow mindedness and yes, racism of white people enshrouded in wokeness.

I say we just take him out to the woods and tie him up!

Porter? You brought her.

R151 It's because Brits are a lot more talented than Americans

From NYT review of BP's recent book:

"This is not just a memoir, saints; this is a testimony. He is telling a story and he is spilling the tea and he is working through deep wounds in pursuit of a clearer path to a full experience of personhood. “Here I am all these decades later, at the height of my life and career — covered in alla my personal trauma,” he says early in the book.

Some stories one wishes Porter would linger on. His marriage and recent career successes, for instance, rush by in a blur of boldfaced names and viral moments. But in “Unprotected,” Porter is reaching for a loftier objective than just delivering a happily ever after. “My art is my calling, my purpose, dare I say my ministry,” he writes."

/quote

No, article isn't behind a paywall....

Notice not unlike so many self-loathing Snow Queens, Billy Porter married a white guy.

So I guess his rants are only directed at straight white guys.

Yes!

Bugs Bunny in drag! That's it exactly!

[quote]The FACT that Billy Porter has had many tremendous opportunities is evidenced by his fame and the current state of his career. And it could be argued that, at least in recent years, effeminate, black gay men have been given MORE opportunities than straight white men due to producers, directors, etc. bending over backwards in terms of "diversity."

And here’s where your grandiose theory of how the poor straight white man has gotten the shaft falls apart.

THIS post is about the frustration of an effeminate, gay Black man who wears dresses and is pissed off that a straight white man has become the first man to appear on the front cover of THE major FASHION MAGAZINE in a dress. All of the gay and queer representation that we have and a goddamn fashion magazine chooses a straight white dude to make fashion history--whatever the FUCK that means.

Where’s the 99.99999% more opportunity in that scenario? What are these alleged opportunities that straight men aren't getting that Billy Porter is--according to you?

So instead of bullshit like “The argument could be made…” and calling me an idiot, why don’t you and the other 8 schmucks who liked your post actually make an argument and answer the FUCKING question? What are these opportunities that 99.9999999% of straight white men will never get?

And let me be very clear, I don’t give a shit about fashion or Vogue magazine and I don’t think THIS is a race issue by any means. BUT when you purposely make an inflammatory statement, you need to back it the fuck up.

No, R183, it's about an entitled egomaniac who is butthurt that he is not famous enough to grace the cover of Vogue. Period. His " Do you know who I am?" moment. And the answer is a resounding," No."

[quote]Where’s the 99.99999% more opportunity in that scenario? What are these alleged opportunities that straight men aren't getting that Billy Porter is--according to you?

That's not what I meant, and not what I wrote -- and you have a major reading comprehension problem. Seriously.

What I meant, and what I wrote, was that (1) FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS (as I specified), there has been a concerted effort in the entertainment industry (and other areas) to give MORE opportunities to POC, gays, trans, etc. OVER cis white people, even to the point of quotas being established, whether or not those quotas are stated outright. And (2) even if it WERE true (and it isn't) that straight white men in the entertainment industry are STILL being given more opportunities than people who are black and/or gay or trans or non-binary, that wouldn't apply AT ALL to the Billy Porter/Harry Styles situation, as both are big celebrities, so the choice of Styles for the cover of VOGUE ultimately came down ONLY to the question of who would sell more magazines, and has NOTHING to do with discrimination.

Well, I still don’t understand why Vogue would put any man-in-a-dress on the cover.

Fashion magazines are funded by advertisers. They are there to tell women what to buy. Thin, beautiful women are pictured to appeal to aspirational consumers. The editorial content is PR for actresses, designers, authors and other celebrities with agendas.

I’m not expecting to see men on the cover regularly, so Harry Styles is just a blip, to me.

Perhaps Vogue is pivoting toward some new mission, I don’t know.

R186, perhaps they figured that putting Styles on the cover would generate great interest that would translate into magazine sales simply because of the novelty, and it appears they were right. I assume that the editorial and ad content of that issue was the same as always, telling women what to buy.

Yo sure is ugly!

[quote]From NYT review of BP's recent book

Doesn't this sound like a fun read!

[quote]“My art is my calling, my purpose, dare I say my ministry,” he writes."

Oh, Bro-THER!

[quote]“My art is my calling, my purpose, dare I say my ministry,” he writes.

Wow. Not self-important at all!

He's right - he did start the trend - at least on the modern mainstream red carpet. But, what is there to say - someone else got a cover doing it. That's hardly unusual. It's not like Porter hasn't got all sorts of press himself for this dresses and skirts - which are, to be sure, much better than the Styles cover.

He has an enormous chip on his shoulder and he's crazy bitter. And I get it - he's suffered a lot and had truly terrible things happen to him - the bullying, the religious upbringing, the sexual abuse. I do not blame him at all for having a chip and being bitter. But understanding that about him doesn't make him a more pleasant person. He really can be exhausting and insufferable. And now that he has money and fame, he has a well-developed defensive arrogance. I just listened to his Fresh Air interview and it was there.

The DL troll who's always in the music threads screaming about "ancient white fags" reminds me of Billy Porter. Crazy, bitter and delusional.

[quote]“My art is my calling, my purpose, dare I say my ministry,” he writes.

I imagine a lot of the other performers from the 1994 revival of "Grease" as well as the cast of "Smokey Joe's Cafe" would say the same thing...if asked!

It's truly great to aim high, but equally as desirable to lighten up.

R192 But...Matt and Trey did it twenty years ago, he is, in no way, the first.

It’s not equality they seek. The discussion and his art is all about assailing, yelling and constantly reinventing looks to be provocative and grab attention- this is exhausting for an old man- let Harry and younger generations carry the torch, dear. He jumped on the trans bus because being gay just isn’t as striking anymore. Harvey Fierstein was the first.

R185 Am I in the FUCKING Twilight Zone?

[quote]That's not what I meant, and not what I wrote -- and you have a major reading comprehension problem. Seriously.

You wrote: Sorry, but Billy Porter is black and gay. He was given opportunities that 99.9999999% of straight white men will never get. Does he realize how ridiculous his argument is?

I asked you to specify what those opportunities were, and you respond with "In recent years...blahlblahblah." Give me some examples of the 99.99999% of opportunities.

WHY CAN"T YOU DO THAT?

[quote]He decided to get on the popular Gender Queer/Gender Identity Movement bandwagon because he is opportunistic and thought it could take him somewhere.

This approach is no different than when he tried to pass himself off as a straight pussyhound (not unlike NPH’s Barney character) in a pathetic pilot presentation I suffered through many years ago.

Porter doesn’t come from a place of strength; he comes from a place of entitlement.

And thirst.

It really doesn’t matter the particulars - he will glom onto whatever thing he suspects you might favor, then proceeds as though he epitomizes that thing.

“I am the first, the best, the most at whatever you all deem is the thing that might place me on a pedestal.”

I'm seeing comments that Billy Porter's entitled and getting things handed to him that White men aren't? Slow your roll.

First, Billy Porter had very humble beginnings. There was nothing rich and fancy about his upbringing and there definitely wasn't any money or privilege involved.

Second, Billy Porter is a phenomenal singing talent as evidenced by the MANY accolades he's received for that.

Third, as an openly gay Black man in an industry predominately run by White heterosexual males do I believe Billy Porter has been discriminated against? Absolutely! That would be the OPPOSITE of entitlement.

Fourth, Billy Porter has been in the game a long time. He is not an overnight success. He has worked hard and was not handed anything.

Fifth, Billy Porter deserves the success he worked hard for.

However, his arguments on the dress shit are lame and cause him to lose a lot of credibility.

For the sake of argument, let's say Billy Porter was the first man in a dress. So what? That doesn't mean he gets to be on the cover of ANYBODY'S magazine.

As a performer, Billy knows that ALL artistic decisions (e.g. acting gigs, awards, magazine stories etc.) are subjective.

Vogue is the product of a private business entity and the financial bottom line is gonna drive that "subjective" decision.

For whatever reason, they made the decision to go with someone else. Without some "objective" evidence that this was a slight to gay men or Black men, or even to him personally, he needs to get over himself. He sounds like a lunatic!

And let's not forget that Billy's had lots of press coverage over the years of him in dresses. It's not like he's being ignored.

So is Billy Porter entitled? NO

Is Billy Porter wrong on this issue? YES

The Oscars dress looked great because it was fit and tailored perfectly and blended masculine and feminine together well. Everything since he looks like a man wearing ill fitting gowns.

David Bowie wearing a dress in 1970 👇🏻

R197, the opportunities that Billy Porter has been given were.....umm, the ones that allowed him to achieve his current position of fame and success. And those are opportunities that are not available to 99.9999999% of straight white men.....or gay white men.....or straight black men....or gay black women.... and so on, and so on. THAT'S what I meant, and I hope you get it now.

[quote]Billy Porter is a phenomenal singing talent as evidenced by the MANY accolades he's received for that.

He WAS a phenomenal singing talent. As I noted elsewhere, he ruined that for himself long ago by practically destroying his phenomenal singing voice through abuse.

HELLOOOOOOO!!! 👋

What about me???

I still don't understand exactly what IMPORTANT MESSAGE to society a man in a dress is supposed to impart in the year 2021 (or last few years)?

It looks "stunty" and sort of giggle-worthy, but who is it helping, or informing? Honestly, it's mostly just dopey!

You gotta have a gimmick if you want to have a chance.

R203, his singing on the last few episodes of POSE sounded like a drunk uncle belting out an old diddy at a family barbecue.

All bravado and no technique.

"All he has to do is be white and straight"

and minimum makeup and no costume!

Someone really needs to tell Billy Porter he is overdoing it on EVERYTHING!

Styles is most likely bi and at least he doesn't brag endlessly like BP. Billy's new single Children has only been out a week but is already off all itunes charts. Harry has songs that are two years old on there.

[quote]His singing on the last few episodes of POSE sounded like a drunk uncle belting out an old diddy at a family barbecue.

The word is "ditty," but your misspelling is quite amusing :-)

It's "Diddy" motherfucker.

Ha, R211. Of course, that was my reference.

The trans/nonbinaries of Twitter aren't happy with Billy Porter's claims. Him being a "cisgender man" means he has privilege. They think the spotlight should go to them.

Lol, See what you started Billy.

It was once common for men to wear dresses and heels.

Thirsty transvestite said WHAT?

Bitch stole my look.

Little toddlers and little boys wore dresses because it was easier for those charged with making their clothing, dressing them, and paying for said clothing. Plus given high infant and child mortality rates it didn't make much economic sense to lay in a supply of gender specific clothing. By nature male infants and children are less hearty than girls, so there's that as well.

This went on well into Edwardian period for some demographics, but gradually young boys/toddlers were put into short pants. Either way, dresses or short pants it was a big deal when a boy was "breeched" and got his first pair of long trousers.

Of course main reason for putting boys in gowns and dresses was toilet training. Until a child had control of his bowels and urine, and was trained what to do when nature called, it made no sense to put them into the often complicated garments modeled upon adults.

Advent of snaps, zippers, and other closures on clothing meant for both sexes gowns became less used for infants and young children. Onesies (with or without feet) became the new garment for babies and small children.

Finally another reason to ditch those long gowns was they were highly flammable. All that cotton, lace, yards of fabric could be dangerous if caught fire. In days when open fires in homes were common for heating, cooking, lighting, many infants suffered serious burns if not death from flames. Women also suffered on average more burns and or death caused by fire for same reasons; their dresses/gowns had all that fabric (think Mrs. Havisham).

Even if he were white and straight, Billy would never make the cover of Vogue, since he is not popular and would not sell magazines. Outside NYC, few people know who he is and fewer care.

Vogue is an ASPIRATIONAL magazine hinged on those that perpetuate the current moment’s youth, energy and beauty, NOT especially gender or defying gender. Harry is more youthful and plays to a different, much younger demographic. The clothes (or whether its a dress or a guy wearing one) are merely props. This is just sour grapes because Indya made it onto Elle’s cover.

Billy Porter isn’t age appropriate. The blush fell off that rose long ago.

Ms. Porter seems to think her beauty and style make her a natural to be on the cover of Vogue!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Porter is nothing but a femmy, tacky, black bitch piece of trash with Audrey Hepburn aspirations.

"I created the conversation (about non-binary fashion)"

NO ONE else said a word about any of this until Ms. Billy Porter came onto the scene!

Deluded queen.

Gurl, no. Just no.

It's one thing to be critical and I do agree with him that Styles is not in any way historic - in fact, he could not be more cliched. However, it's another to try and take credit yourself when everyone knows you're full of shit. Many came before you, Billy. Go have a seat, honey.

Billy Porter is one of those people who thinks he's MUCH more talented and important than he really is. Show business is full of these people.

This isn't Time Magazine. It's a fashion magazine whose main goal is to sell magazines. They went with someone on their cover who will probably sell more magazines.

They do not owe Billy Porter or any other trans person anything. He of course does not like the fact that Harry Styles is more popular and more well known. That will help sell more magazines

Does anyone has a working link to that Emmys red carpet when Laura Dern scoffs him for not knowing who her mother was? That was gold!

*have

Harry Styles + Billy Porter = Harry Porter

JEALOUSY and VICTIMHOOD. American racial obsession again.

[quote] what a big fat bitter bitch

Cacophony to my ears!

Wow the green is showing through his brown skin. Jealous gurl! He’s too FUG and not famous enough to be on the cover , sorry bitch I went there, so Vogue did what they do, they went with a magazine selling sexy famous celeb. Billy’s being a nasty jealous cunt who is pulling a race card. No need to remind us Harry Styles is white, no one cares , he’s talented and likeable and hot.

Billy is now apologizing to Harry Styles.

About time R233

Porter, if you can not be white, at least you can be straight, you jealous bitch.

Jealous old HAG!!!!

Poor Billy, we are all so over you

Billy Porter is grotesque.

How can he ever expect to be taken seriously?

Addressing the controversy on Colbert’s show.

Could he be any gayer with the fan?

[quote]“Apparently, I’m famous now and it was a slow news day.”

Ummm, I kinda think that publicity for your idiotic remarks is JUST what you wanted. Sorry that you didn't think the attention would be so negative, bitch :-(

To quote a wise Korean:" Stop taking! Dead skin cells are coming out of your mouth."

Harry Styles is like "who the fuck is Billy Porter?"

R239 Billy's annoying & cringy over the top antics don't make him "gay." They make him a clown who happens to be gay.

He's a fame whore who wants headlines at all costs. Now Pose is over, so is his career. Styles has kept a dignified silence throughout.

R244 he still has his directorial debut movie about a "hot" high school boy who falls for a transgender girl.

Eeeeek!

Is that really what it is about? Gross but woke!

All hot teenage boys can't wait to get that sweet transgash....

Eeeeew! I don't know any teens wanting shit on their dicks.

R248 they why are so many wanting to fuck girls up the ass?

The cover of Vogue is one of the most ridiculous things ever, is a guy in a dress, period. There is no intention, there is nothing behind. He was there, they put him in a dress and that's all

R249, they don't.

[quote] Historic vogue cover

***Histrionic, ooops

r31 you should know that my post at r36 has 35 likes which also means 35 hates about you.

'He still has his directorial debut movie about a "hot" high school boy who falls for a transgender girl.'

As if that would ever happen. It was ridiculous in Pose how many hot men Angel and Mother got. I can't remember her name but she kept saying 'I'm your MOTHER' to all these kids barely younger than herself.

I actually really respect Harry for keeping silent about this. Not feeding this famewhore troll.

R255 I doubt Harry even cares.

I'll be glad when Porter's 15 minutes are up. What an obnoxious and annoying asshole.

Somebody give this clown a Xanax cocktail.