Harry Styles Thanks One Direction, Calls Out Male Privilege at Brit Awards

Harry Styles swept all four of the categories he was nominated in during the 2023 Brit Awards, paid homage to those that got him to this point, and acknowledged that while the awards ceremony was working to be inclusionary — going gender neutral a year ago — it ended up with all-male nominees for its Artist of the Year category.

During his acceptance speech for Artist of the Year, he thanked One Direction, his mom, and X Factor — the reality show that launched his career.

“I want to thank my mom for signing me up for X Factor without telling me, so I literally wouldn’t be here without you,” he said. “I want to thank Niall, Louis, Liam, and Zayn, so I wouldn’t be here without you, either. Thank you so much. And I’m really, really grateful for this.”

He added: “I’m very aware of my privilege up here tonight,” he said. “So, this award is for Rina [Sawayama], Charli [XCX], Florence [Welch], Mabel and Becky [Hill]” — all of whom were shut-out of the category this year.

Styles also won Best Pop/R&B Act, Album of the Year for 2022’s Harry’s House, and Song of the Year for the LP’s lead single “As It Was,” which he also performed live during the show.

Last weekend, he delivered “As It Was” at the Grammys, too — the performance experienced technical difficulties, according to some of the dancers — where he also took home the Album of the Year award.