Former One Direction band-mate Harry Styles has graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the second time, using the opportunity to address his ongoing advocacy for the LGBTIQ+ community.
Styles, who has earned a reputation for waving pride and trans flags on stage, said it was important for him to make everyone in the audience feel at home.
“I want to make people feel comfortable being whatever they want to be,” he said in the interview.
“Maybe at a show you can have a moment of knowing that you’re not alone. I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows."
He continued: “I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.”
Styles, who has previously stated that he "doesn't feel the need" to use labels when describing his sexuality, said cultivating acceptance at his concerts has made him more aware of his privilege.
“It’s a room full of accepting people.… If you’re someone who feels like an outsider, you’re not always in a big crowd like that,” he said. “It’s not about, ‘Oh, I get what it’s like,’ because I don’t.”
He added: “I go walking at night before bed most of the time. I was talking about that with a female friend and she said, ‘Do you feel safe doing that?’ And I do. But when I walk, I’m more aware that I feel OK to walk at night, and some of my friends wouldn’t.
"I’m not saying I know what it feels like to go through that. It’s just being aware.”
