Harry Styles Talks Queerbaiting, Kisses Ben Marshallon ‘SNL’

Harry Styles returned to Saturday Night Live on Saturday (March 14) for his second turn as host and musical guest, using his monologue to address years of queerbaiting allegations with a joke that brought down the house — and made headlines before the credits rolled.

In the monologue, Styles reflected on his time away from music following the end of his Love on Tour in 2023, joking that he had become “tremendously boring” and that people only pretended to find his hobbies interesting because of who he is.

He then pivoted to the queerbaiting discourse that has followed him throughout his career, noting that fans had fixated on his clothing choices and personal life.

After building to the punchline — in which repertory players Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman each appeared and left in dismay as Styles made increasingly pointed remarks about kissing — featured player Ben Marshall appeared onstage and Styles leaned in for a brief kiss.

“Now that’s queerbaiting,” Styles concluded with a wink.

The episode also featured a pair of high-profile surprise guests. Ryan Gosling appeared to introduce Styles’ first musical performance of the night, returning the favor after Styles crashed Gosling’s monologue during the previous week’s episode.

Paul Simon then introduced Styles’ second performance, with Styles performing “Coming Up Roses” from his new album at the piano — a fitting tribute given Styles has spoken publicly about Simon’s influence on his songwriting, including describing One Direction’s “Walking in the Wind” as a homage to Graceland.

Styles performed two tracks from his fourth studio album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally — opening with “Dance No More” before closing with “Coming Up Roses.” The 12-track album, produced by Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson, was released on March 6.

Styles is supporting the album with the Together, Together Tour, a 50-show residency run across seven cities worldwide including Amsterdam, London, New York, Melbourne and Sydney.

It was Styles’ eighth overall appearance on SNL and his second time pulling double duty as host and musical guest, having first hosted during Season 45 in 2019. He is a three-time Grammy winner, taking home Best Pop Solo Performance for “Watermelon Sugar” in 2021 and both Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for Harry’s House in 2023.