Piers Morgan says Harry Styles wearing a dress on Vogue cover is ‘a bit weird’

‘Why do men need to wear dresses’, GMB host asks

Piers Morgan has said that Harry Styles wearing a dress for his historic US Vogue cover is "a bit weird". 

The “Watermelon Sugar” singer made history as the first solo man on the magazine’s cover and wore a Gucci dress for the occasion – a style choice that saw the singer become the target of social media users who said he was “attacking masculinity”.

US political commentator Candace Owens kickstarted the debate on Twitter, accusing Styles of endangering “manly men” for deciding to pose in a dress for the photoshoot.

“There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminisation of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence,” she wrote. 

“It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.”

On Wednesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, Morgan and co-host Susanna Reid chaired a discussion with American model Rain and journalist Sally Jones about whether it is time to “bring back manly men”, as Owens suggested.

Discussing Styles’ outfit, Piers asked: “Why do men need to wear dresses?

“I’m not saying I’m against it, I’m not saying I’m for it. I’m just saying it’s all a bit weird.”

Reid interjected: “For the same reason women are allowed to wear trousers if we want to”, to which Morgan replied: “But Harry Styles just looks a bit weird here.

“I mean, he’s not going to go out, is he, for dinner like this?”

Wading in on the debate, Rain argued that everyone has the right to wear whatever they like.

“Everybody has the right to absorb other people's aesthetics how they see fit. This isn't about a need thing, this is about a want thing,” they said.

“People should wear what is best for them to access the world around them and access their confidence. The great thing about fashion is it’s constantly evolving.”

Meanwhile, Jones said she believes that fashion has become “heavily metrosexual partly because of the great dominance of gay views and aesthetic”. 

“'You can see that Harry Styles is just wearing that dress to cause a sensation,” she said.

“Perfectly nice looking, attractive straight guy, looking perfectly OK, just a bit weird in a dress.”

On Tuesday, Styles’ mother, Anne Twist, made an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine show, during which she admitted she may have played a part in the singer’s decision to wear a dress and took the opportunity to defend him against the trolls.

“I think maybe I had something to do with it,” Twist said.

“I was always a big fan of doing fancy dress with them when they were smaller, which [Harry’s sister] Gemma always hated but Harry always embraced.”

She continued: “But who doesn’t love playing dress-up?”

His mother was among a host of people who spoke out in defence of the singer, including celebrities such as Elijah Wood, Olivia Wiilde and Zach Braff.

Commenting on Owens’ original thread, Lord of the Rings actor Wood, said: “I think you've missed the definition of what a man is. masculinity alone does not make a man. In fact it’s got nothing to do with it”.