Harry Styles addresses queerbaiting claims on Saturday Night Live as he shares kiss with Ben Marshall

Harry Styles addressed queerbaiting claims on Saturday Night Live, followed by an on-air kiss with comedian Ben Marshall.

Styles is well and truly back after taking a hiatus following his 2023 Love On Tour. Earlier this month, the Brit Award winner released his fourth solo album.

Titled Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, this marks the fourth time the One Direction star has consecutively debuted at No. 1 on the charts since going solo in 2016.

Styles truly knows how to make a comeback, from performing his lead single Aperture at the 2026 Brits to making his second presenting run on SNL.

“I just really like fruit, guys. I like sex too” – Styles on taking a break from music

Having last made his full hosting appearance in 2019, Styles came back with a bang – or should we say, a kiss – discussing queerbaiting claims.

In his opening monologue, Styles reflected on his break from music after wrapping Love On Tour: “I finished my last tour in 2023, and after that I took a bunch of time off.”

He said: “I realised I’d spent half 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.”

“You stumble back to the room and you just wanna” – Styles SNL opening monologue discusses time off music

Referring to his 2020 No. 1 hit ‘Watermelon Sugar’, he joked about his holiday antics during his music hiatus.

“So, 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… papaya,” he said.

Harry Styles’ monologue! pic.twitter.com/k6q3sTunGi

— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) March 15, 2026

Styles then moved on to address queerbaiting, something for which he has been criticised for a long time during his solo career.

Why has Styles been accused of queertbaiting?

Styles famously wore a Gucci dress on the December 2020 cover of Vogue, becoming the first man to appear solo on the cover. Though the shoot was widely praised by fans around the world, homophobia and queerbaiting claims followed.

Critics continued to speculate after Styles starred in the LGBTQ+ film My Policeman, in which he engages in a gay love affair with David Dawson’s character.

Styles had never addressed these claims, nor had he publicly been in a relationship with a man, until speaking out on SNL last weekend.

“Maybe you don’t know everything about me, dad?” – Styles reinforced the queerbaitng claims

He said: “Back then, people seemed to pay a lot of attention to the clothes I was wearing, and some people accused me of something called queerbaiting.”

In true Styles fashion, he playfully reinforced the allegations: “But did it ever occur to you that maybe you don’t know everything about me, dad?”

SNL star Ben Marshall then appeared on stage, and the two shared a kiss. “Now that’s queerbaiting,” Styles concluded.