Harry Styles won Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night, but his acceptance speech raised a lot of eyebrows, to say the least. While thanking the Recording Academy for his award, Styles said “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often,” leaving many viewers confused. Before long, critics were skewering Styles for his approach to identity politics, assuming he was referring to his gender identity or sexual orientation โ though that may not have been the case.
Styles’ latest record, Harry’s House, won several awards on Sunday night, and the singer himself was clearly overwhelmed. However, not everyone was happy for him โ especially when it came to Album of the Year, which had some other incredible nominees. He said: “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.”
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“I’m just so โ this doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice,” Styles concluded. The crowd cheered for the 29-year-old in that moment, but on social media, commenters were scratching their heads at once. Many noted that some other nominees were not white and were not cisgendered men, and it would have meant a lot to them to see some representation on the stage. In that context, Styles’ comments hit them the wrong way.
In reality, Styles likely wasn’t referring to his race, creed, gender or orientation at all โ most fans assume he was referring to his class. Styles was not raised in the entertainment industry, and he got his big break primarily through luck thanks to reality TV. Styles grew up in a working-class family in a small town, so making it to the Grammy stage obviously meant a lot to him.
At the same time, viewers could be forgiven for thinking that Styles was referring to something else. The singer has hinted often that he is not strictly heterosexual, but has avoided labeling himself in any concrete way. Many critics feel that this is exploitative “queerbaiting,” and is meant to keep young fans on the hook without endangering his public image too much. To them, the phrase “people like me” just sounded like another way to skirt around an important issue that they feel Styles should be explicit about. Here’s a look at how the conversation has been playing out online.
Past Remarks
Finally, some fans felt that this was simply a case of poor communication, and they didn’t have to look back very far to see other examples of Styles failing to get his point across in ad-libbed conversations.
Exploitative
This controversy reignited longstanding complaints from some who believe that Styles exploits the LGBTQ+ community with his work.
Context
Some fans felt they understood the context of Styles remark based on his banter at concerts. They speculated that he was referring to his working-class upbringing with no entertainment industry connections, but even if that had come across in his speech it likely would have likely rung hollow to many of his critics.
New Catchphrase
It wasn’t long before commenters were coming up with new and inventive ways to employ this catchphrase in their own daily lives.
Contrast
Fans felt that there was a stark contrast between Styles and Beyonce’s acceptance speeches, with Beyonce dedicating more time to thanking her fans than celebrating herself.
Stats
Assuming that Styles was alluding to some form of diversity, fans pointed out that his demographic has won most Album of the Year awards and most Grammys for decades now.
Baffling
People tweeted about this blunder in real time, working through their best guesses about what Styles could have meant. Many couldn’t think of a single identifier that set Styles apart from other Grammy winners in a meaningful way.
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Olivia Rodrigo in concert. Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ABA
