Harry Styles Jokes About Queerbaiting During ‘SNL’ Monologue, Shares Surprise Kiss With Cast Member

When Harry Styles took the stage to host Saturday Night Live again, he decided to tackle a topic that fans and critics have debated for years. Instead of getting serious, he leaned into the conversation with humor and a little surprise at the end.

During the opening monologue on Saturday (March 14), the singer joked about long-running accusations of queerbaiting. The bit ended with a kiss shared onstage with cast member Ben Marshall, which got big cheers from the studio audience.

Styles started his monologue by thinking back to the last time he hosted the show in 2019 and how much attention people paid to his fashion choices.

“Back then, people seemed to pay a lot of attention to the clothes I was wearing, something called ‘queerbaiting’,” he said near the one-minute mark in the video linked above. “And some people accused me of it, but did it ever occur to you that maybe you don't know everything about me, Dad?!”

The singer then steered the joke in a new direction by talking about kissing.

“I mean, sometimes kissing can be great,” Styles said. “You know, if you're really good at it and you're a good person."

Several female cast members, including Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman, appeared onstage hoping to get a kiss, but Styles turned them down.

Then he joked that kissing could also be good "if you have a tight little bum."

That is when Marshall walked out.

"Well, you said ‘tight little bum. ‘So where's my kiss?" Marshall quipped.

Styles laughed and fired back, "Come on, Ben. Everyone knows there's nothing little about that thang. You're haulin' a damn wagon back there."

The singer then said, "Whatever, come here," before the two shared a kiss as the audience cheered. Styles ended the moment with a wink and a punchline.

"Now, that's queerbaiting!"

Debates about queerbaiting have followed Styles throughout his solo career.

As explained by Them, the term often refers to public figures who hint at non-heterosexual attraction or relationships to appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences without clearly confirming their own identity.

Styles has faced those accusations because of his gender-fluid fashion and his choice not to label his sexuality.

In an April 2022 interview with Better Homes & Gardens around the era of his album Fine Line, he explained why he prefers to keep parts of his life private.

“I've been really open with it with my friends, but that's my personal experience; it's mine."

He added that the goal should be “toward accepting everybody and being more open,” saying it “doesn't matter, and it's about not having to label everything, not having to clarify what boxes you're checking.”

Later that year, he also addressed public curiosity about his personal life in an interview with Rolling Stone.

“I've never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it's benefited me positively."

He continued, “There's always going to be a version of a narrative, and I think I just decided I wasn't going to spend the time trying to correct it or redirect it in some way.”

When discussing speculation about his relationships, he said, “Sometimes people say, 'You've only publicly been with women,’ and I don't think I've publicly been with anyone.”

Styles has also talked openly about how fashion plays into self-expression.

In a 2020 interview with Vogue after becoming the magazine's first solo male cover star, he discussed how removing gender labels from clothing opens up creativity.

“When you take away, ‘There's clothes for men, and there's clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play,” he said