On Tuesday 7 November 2023, iconic cultural gossip site DeuxMoi shared an image of Harry Styles with an interesting new hairdo. In a grainy photo, the 29-year-old pop star was seen sporting nothing less than a shocking new buzz cut. I know, I agree that this is massive news. The photo of Styles was allegedly taken at U2’s Las Vegas concert last year.
The uploaded image sent the internet into a meltdown almost immediately. Has Styles done the unthinkable and swapped his luscious curls for a shaved style? Filled with grief and confusion, fans quickly took to social media to express their mourning over the loss of his magnificent locks. Mind you, it’s impressive how quickly Styles’ fanbase can run with a rumour.
“I can’t believe it’s gone,” one fan captioned a video in which she paid tribute to the singer’s old hairdo with a montage of old pictures. “It has to be a joke, I can’t do this right now,” a fellow TikToker commented on her video. “I’m actually not ok,” another stated. “Until we get HQ photos of him with a buzz cut, I refuse to believe it,” one more clearly distressed fan declared.
For many of his devoted fans, Style’s hair is part of his charm. It was even captured in the artist David Hockney’s portrait of him, which currently hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. It’s such a sacred piece of art that even Just Stop Oil haven’t dared tamper with it.
Despite many fans already posting farewells to Styles’ old mane, it should be noted that statements made by DeuxMoi aren’t independently verified. Consequently, a lot of fans started to question the veracity of the photo and noted that Styles hadn’t been spotted anywhere else with this new haircut.
Nevertheless, rumours have been circulating for a while now that Harry is not as hairy as he always appears to be… Over the last year, several theories claiming that the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer is currently balding and wearing a hairpiece have gone viral on TikTok. Say it isn’t so.
This theory can be traced back to another blind item posted by DeuxMoi in July 2022. It detailed that an unnamed A-list singer and occasional actor had gone “almost completely bald” and was hiding in plain sight with a toupee. “His hairpiece is so lifelike that only a good eye could pick it out,” the statement continued. It didn’t take long for people to guess that it was Styles, whose hair is an integral part of his brand aesthetic, as you might have guessed by now.
So far we have no confirmation whether the singer’s luscious locks live to slay another day or whether they’ve officially got the chop. Nonetheless, it should be comforting to know that his potential new do probably won’t last forever. “Y’all acting like hair doesn’t grow back,” one final netizen noted.
UPDATE: TMZ has released new footage that seems to confirm the rumours.