November 5, 2021
Watch: Harry Styles Helps LGBTQ+ Fans Come Out
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Harry Styles has made helping his LGBTQ+ fans come out a part of his act, making proud announcements to parents. His latest onstage announcement has gone viral, Billboard reported.
"During the Milwaukee stop Wednesday for his Love On Tour, Styles spotted a fan holding up a sign that read, 'My mom is in section 201. Help me come out?'"
Would he ever. Styles unhesitatingly held his mike out so that the fan – identified by NBC News as McKinley McConnell – could tell her mother, who was seated in another part of the concert venue, herself. But McConnell ended up asking Styles to do it for her.
"I can tell her," Styles agreed. "Yeah, no problem, one second." Then came the moment: "Lisa, she's gay!" Styles said from the stage, addressing McConnell's mother by name, as thousands of fans screamed their support.
"thank you for creating a safe place for me," McConnell posted on Twitter afterwards, along with a video from the moment. "thank you for helping me know who i am."
To Newsweek, McConnell recounted that she'd "admired him for so long, having him be apart of this was unreal."
It was hardly the first time Styles had helped a fan come out to family members, NBC News noted. "Last month, he helped a young woman named Lexi come out as bisexual at his show at Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena," the story recalled.
After spotting Lexi's sign in the crowd ("help me come out"), Styles accepted the young woman's bisexual flag and bantered with her from the stage.
"When I raise this flag, you're officially out," the former One Direction member joked. "I've heard that's how it works."
What worked even better was his light touch and absolute acceptance.
Even as long ago as 2018 Styles was making his concerts special for young LGBTQ+ fans needing some moral support to come out to their families. NBC News recalled that in July of that year, Styles saw a sign held by a fan named Grace: "I'm gonna come out to my parents because of you!"
"Styles saw the poster and, with Grace's blessing, did the job for her," NBC News said. "After asking for her mother's name he shouted, 'Tina, she's gay!'"
Grace posted her heartfelt response to Styles' onstage validation, writing, "Thank you so much for creating an environment where I am proud to be who I am. Your continuous support of the LGBTQ+ has helped me come to love myself and feel safe."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
