Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoTz97Era7_/
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.
harry styles, a WHITE MAN, standing up on the grammy stage with the aoty award in his hands talking about “this doesn’t happen to people like me” is so sinister like sir??? i need you to be so fcking fr it only ever happens to “people like you” pic.twitter.com/YGupiFqIc0
— jess⁷ (@jikookology) February 6, 2023
no bcs i gen want to know what Harry Styles meant when he said “this doesnt happen often to PEOPLE LIKE *ME*” in context to winning an award
you, a cis white man who grew up middle class in england with a posh family, became a member of one of the most famous boy bands at 16
— Nia (@carstairsbur) February 6, 2023
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.
so many black creators deserved to be Grammy winners, so many queer black people and black trans creators deserved to be recognised tonight, Beyoncé losing means so much more than some “stan war” this is a loss for a community as a whole
— jacob XCX (@CONANcob_) February 6, 2023
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.
I think y’all keep forgetting that this is also Kendrick Lamar’s third AOTY loss as much as it’s Beyoncé’s fourth. Popular Black artists will keep losing that category and when they want to do token inclusion, they award it to one obscured black artist. Lmfao.
— tony francis (@obynofranc) February 6, 2023
While Harry Styles probably did not mean to offend people with his Grammy acceptance speech, it has opened a conversation that is long overdue.
