Harry Styles took home the Album of the Year award at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night for his album, Harry's House, but not without a hitch. The ex-boy band singer, who has also made a splash in the film world, competed against a tough list of nominees, including The Queen herself, Beyoncé.
Styles looked just as surprised as other audience members when his win was announced, as it was widely expected that Beyoncé's Renaissance would win the award. In his obvious shock, Styles started his speech with "Well, shit," before continuing with a pretty typical acceptance speech. He thanked people and honored his fellow nominees, saying how "inspired" he was by the other artists,
“I think on nights like tonight it’s important for us to remember there is no such thing as ‘best’ in music. I don’t think any of us sit in the studio making decisions on what is going to get us one of these,"
Styles said as he wrapped up the speech, but then things went awry. In his last line before handing off the microphone, he said,
“I’m just so— This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice. Thank you very much.”
That last line practically instantaneously triggered a whirlwind of uproar and backlash for the former One Direction singer.
Viewers Took to Social Media, Blaming White Privilege for Harry Styles' Contentious Comment
Following the speech, Sam Sanders, Vulture podcast host and former NPR journalist, took to Twitter, as reported by HuffPost.
Styles was up against multiple artists of color, and a win for Beyoncé would have been the first win for a black woman since 1999, while a win for Benito could have made him the first Puerto Rican to ever receive the award. Considering this, many fans took Styles' comment as enraging, as it seemed to imply that "people like" him are less likely to win the award, which historically speaking couldn't be further from the truth. The overwhelming majority of winners for Album of the Year have been like Harry, white cis men.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that many fans feel that this is not the first time they watched a person of color, most notably Beyoncé, unfairly lose the category to a white artist. Beyoncé is the most decorated Grammy Award winner of all time, but this is the 4th time fans have watched her lose the prestigious album of the year award and have deemed it an unfair snub.
Harry Styles Fans Come to His Defense and Try to Explain the Artist's Comment
On the other side of the controversy, many fans took to Twitter to show support for Styles and offer an explanation as to what the British singer may have meant. Some pointed out that in saying "people like me," Styles may not have been referring to race, gender, or sexuality at all. According to supporters, the singer could have meant anything with his comment.
After all, Styles grew up in a small town where he worked at a bakery making 6€ an hour at the age of fourteen and does not come from a 'Hollywood' or 'connected' family, which is a subject that has previously faced its own backlash for "nepotism."
This Styles anecdote had also just been mentioned by Kid Harpoon when he introduced Styles at the Grammys. In turn, some speculate it as the reasoning behind his acceptance speech. Others point to Styles' boy-band roots and his unlikely discovery as an explanation. Although they have mainstream success, pop groups are notorious for struggling to achieve critics approval.
It seems that regardless of the meaning behind his comment, Styles probably could have used a less controversial phrase. Then again, it's not so far-fetched to think that the whole fiasco was a bad case of nerves that landed the singer with his foot in his mouth. In any case, some fans continue to express their disapproval, while others are eager to show support.