Harry Styles called out on white, male privilege after Grammy acceptance speech

KARACHI: Over the years, if one thing has become startingly clear is that America, the land of the free and of equality, isn’t all that free and equal. The Black Lives Matter movement has been at the forefront of highlighting the problem and people in different spheres have become more vocal about the disadvantages black people face. More recently, the fact that the film and music industry in Hollywood snubs black artists has gained quite a bit of attention. Which brings us to Harry Styles and his Grammy acceptance speech which has gained quite a bit of backlash for reeking of privilege.

The former One Direction singer bagged the Album of the Year Award beating the likes of Beyonce, Adele and Coldplay. Harry Styles was taken aback when it was announced that he had won the award and at a loss of words he stated in his acceptance speech, “This is really, really kind. I’m so, so grateful. This doesn’t happen to people like me very often.”

However, many were not amused by his humble acceptance speech. Many took to Twitter to point out why the reality is exactly the opposite of what Harry Styles claimed. Being a white man automatically made him much more likely to win the award than, let’s say, a black woman.

This year, the Grammys also set out a wave of shock when Beyonce, who broke records with her 32 Grammy wins so far, missed out on winning in major categories.

 

Others also pointed out that it wasn’t just a gender issue, it was a race issue. That black artists were less likely to win than white ones.

While Harry Styles probably did not mean to offend people with his Grammy acceptance speech, it has opened a conversation that is long overdue.