James Scully, who is known for his role as Forty in the hit Netflix show You, has criticised Harry Styles after the singer made comments about his sexuality.
Styles expressed belief it was 'outdated' he should have to define his sexuality during an interview with Better Homes & Gardens this week, explaining he had been open about the matter with friends but otherwise saw it as his 'personal experience'.
"The whole point of where we should be heading, which is toward accepting everybody and being more open, is that it doesn't matter, and it's about not having to label everything, not having to clarify what boxes you're checking," Styles said.
The comments came after Styles found his way into the spotlight as a teenager through his appearance on The X-Factor and subsequent stint in One Direction, but Scully made clear he had issues with what Styles said as he accused him of 'queer-baiting' on his Instagram Story.
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The actor, who is gay, reposted an article titled 'Harry Styles says labelling his sexuality is an "outdated" concept', and added: "Oh does the rich, cis, conventionally attractive white man think this? How nice! How nice for him!"
Scully went on to explain his frustrations in another post, writing we 'don't live in a post labels society' and stressing it would be 'sooooooo nice if we did'.
"But we don't and queer people are currently being literally murdered and legislated out of existence all over the world.
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"We DON'T need queer-baiting celebrities who have never faced the daily realities of being queer speaking on our behalf about dissolving the identities we use to find and build communities. We don't need to be elevating cis voices in conversations about what the future of a community built on the back of Trans and Non-binary people of colour should look like."
Scully went on to point out he didn't label his sexuality because he 'thought it was cool or fun to have the sh*t kicked out of [him]', but because he needed to 'take ownership' of who he was so he could find his community.
"Maybe we'll have to stop having to do that in a future where there is real equality across the spectrums of gender and sexuality but in the meantime Idgaf what some industry pretty boy has to say about it," he wrote.
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The actor went on to stress that it was 'totally fine' if people didn't feel comfortable speaking about their sexuality in public and that 'no queer person owes a dissertation on their identity to anyone', but added: "To publicly imply that the practice of self identifying as a means of empowerment is 'outdated' is not it!"
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: LGBTQ, Harry Styles, You, Netflix