Harry Styles addressed those “queerbaiting” allegations head on — literally — during an appearance on Saturday Night Live.
“People seem to pay a lot of attention to the clothes I was wearing, and some people accused me of something called ‘queerbaiting,’” Styles, 32, mentioned while hosting SNL on Saturday, March 14. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe you don’t know everything about me, dad? I ran it past him, he was fine with it.”
Per the Oxford English Dictionary, queerbaiting is defined as the “practice of trying to appeal to and capitalize on LGBTQ audiences or customers in a deceptive or superficial manner.”
Styles suggested that any confusion comes from his love of kissing. SNL cast members Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman crept up behind the former One Direction during his ode to kissing, though each backed off as Styles rattled off a list of turnoffs.
When Styles mentioned he was particularly attracted to “a tight little bum,” SNL star Ben Marshall jumped on stage to ask for his kiss.
“Come on, Ben! Everyone knows there’s nothing little about that thaaaang. You’re holding a damn wagon back there,” Styles joked.
Still, Styles pulled Marshall, 30, in for a passionate smooch before quipping, “Now, that’s queerbaiting!”
Elsewhere in the monologue, Styles poked fun at fruit featuring so prominently in his music. (Aside from his hit “Watermelon Sugar,” Styles has also named songs after “Cherry,” “Grapejuice” and “Kiwi.”)
“I finished my last tour in 2023, and after that I took a bunch of time off,” Styles recalled. “I realized I spent half of my life in music, touring, creating albums and making songs about fruit that people think are about sex! I just really like fruit, guys. I like sex too.”
He then teased, “You know, when you’re on holiday, it’s like five in the afternoon, you’re all covered in sand. You and your partner are all sweaty and hot, and you stumble back to the room and you just wanna [some] papaya?”
Styles got an early start on his return to Saturday Night Live when he made a cameo in host Ryan Gosling’s monologue last week. The former 1D star explained to Gosling, 45, that he wanted a refresher on hosting SNL since he’d last done it in 2019.
His appearance frazzled Gosling, who resorted to bringing back his “I’m Just Ken” song from the Barbie movie to take the focus off Styles watching him from the front row.
Styles hosted and performed on SNL this week to promote his fourth studio album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, which was released on March 6.
Us Weekly exclusively learned on Thursday, March 12, why Styles plans to ditch a proper world tour for his new album in favor of performing multi-night Together, Together residencies in seven cities.
“Harry approached this project and tour very mindfully,” a source told Us. “By doing multi-night residencies, there is less travel and less burnout.”
The insider indicated that Styles “will likely add more dates” to his Together, Together trek in 2027 but is “approaching this [leg of the tour] in a way that feels healthy for him.”
“For Harry, the past couple of years have been about slowing down, stepping back and finding peace,” the insider tells Us. “He really treasured that time and the sense of privacy and normalcy. He is coming into this tour knowing what works for him. He is incredibly emotionally mature and is constantly working on himself.”
For now, fans can catch Styles’ Together, Together Tour on select dates in Amsterdam from May 16 to June 5, in London from June 12 to July 4, in São Paulo from July 17 to July 24, in Mexico City from July 31 to August 10, in New York City from August 26 to October 31, in Melbourne from November 27 to December 2 and in Sydney on December 12 and December 13. A variety of support acts will appear depending on the city and date, including Robyn, Shania Twain, Jorja Smith and Jamie xx, among others.
In February, Styles told The Sunday Times that he had to completely rethink his approach to touring after his Love On Tour concerts brought 173 shows to more than 20 countries between 2021 and 2023.
“At the end of the tour, the idea of taking time out felt insane. I didn’t know if I could do it, but it was the right time for me,” Styles recalled. “We’d finished the tour in July and I was turning 30 in February. It was time for me to stop for a bit and pay some attention to other parts of my life.”
He noted that his extended break allowed him to be more present for his family, especially when his sister, Gemma, welcomed a daughter in 2024.
“At any other time in my life, I would have missed a lot of that,” he explained. “To be there to get to know my niece as she’s growing up, it’s so obvious to me what’s real. It was really obvious that was where I wanted to be.”
He went on, “I’d always thought, or hoped, that I was the kind of person who didn’t need the dopamine hits that doing this job often gives you. But I hadn’t actually removed myself from it and it’s hard to eliminate the doubt that maybe if it all went away, I’d really miss it. That’s always been a fear for me. So, living my life in a way where I could really like who I am away from this world has been so powerful for me.”
Saturday Night Live’s next new episode airs on NBC April 4 at 11.30 p.m. ET with Jack Black as host and Jack White as musical guest.
