Fashion and LGBTQ+ community icon Billy Porter has reportedly been barred from attending the Met Gala for speaking his right mind, calling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour a b***h, Radar Online reported.
“The repercussions of Porter’s big mouth have been swift and decisive, as his invitation to the all-important Met Gala was revoked and his once-favorable standing with top-tier designers has been shaken,” a source told the outlet. “While Billy is a sensation on the fashion scene, the designers have rallied behind Anna, a true titan of the industry.”
In mid-August, Porter interviewed with The Telegraph, expressing his frustration over Wintour choosing former One Direction member Harry Styles as the face of genderfluid and non-binary fashion in 2020.
But months before the issue was published, Porter met with Wintour, who queried how the magazine could improve.
“That b***h said to me at the end, ‘How can we do better?’ And I was so taken off guard that I didn’t know what I should have said,” Porter recalled. He advised her to “use your power as Vogue to uplift the voices of the leaders of this de-gendering of fashion movement.”
Imagine Porter’s shock when he didn’t receive an invitation to be the face of the movement and discovered Styles’ countenance on the cover.
Note that Styles is a straight, white Grammy award-winning singer. Porter is also a Grammy award winner and one of the prominent faces of the LGBTQ+ movement.
Therefore, he has every right to be frustrated. The 53-year-old clarified his frustration wasn’t directed at Styles, but the “Watermelon Sugar” singer should’ve declined the cover and recommended an actual LGBTQ+ community member.
Wintour’s move with putting Styles on the cover is like putting Rachel Dolezal as the face of the Black Lives Matter movement (oops).
“It doesn’t feel good to me,” Porter said. “You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to elevate you…You haven’t had to sacrifice anything.”
The purpose of including the de-gendering of fashion in the magazine was to initiate conversations on the topic and show representation. But the opposite happened when Wintour chose the safe and typical route: straight and white.
Porter reportedly apologized, yet Wintour’s move was to revoke his Met Gala invitation instead of apologizing to the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s not an obligation to agree with the community’s values, but it’s all about respect.
