Harry Styles’ recent comments about living in Italy have sparked controversy, with Italians taking particular issue with what he had to say.
In case you missed it, Harry has been largely absent from the spotlight since his world tour came to an end in July 2023. Aside from a few, sometimes bizarre, sightings — like in the crowd for the election of the new Pope at the Vatican, and running various marathons — Harry has been enjoying a quiet life away from the spotlight.
However, earlier this year, the former One Direction star announced that his long-awaited fourth studio album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, will be released in March, and he is now firmly back on the promo circuit.
As part of that, 32-year-old Harry sat down with the Sunday Times for an interview that was released this past weekend. In the wide-ranging conversation, he reflected on his decision to relocate to Italy, where he lauded the slower pace of life that he was able to enjoy there.
In the piece, it’s revealed that shortly after turning 30 in 2024, Harry moved into a rented house just outside of Rome with his friend Alessandro Michele, the former creative director at Gucci. Harry recalled: “It was a big, important, transitional moment for me — to stop working and be settled somewhere for a while. I was settling into that life and a new space. I was aware of how pivotal that time in my life was going to be.”
Later in the interview, Harry reflected on this time in his life in more detail when asked what he had been up to over the past two and a half years.
“At the end of the tour, the idea of taking time out felt insane,” he began. “I didn’t know if I could do it. But it was the right time for me — we’d finished the tour in July, and I was turning 30 in February. It was time for me to stop for a bit and pay some attention to other parts of my life.”
“Italy has become really special to me over the past few years,” Harry then shared. “I drove from London to Rome during Covid, in that time when you could travel. I’d spent all my years before that touring — with little gaps in between — and if I had a week off, I’d never have driven somewhere, I would have got there and back as fast as possible. Presented with this time, I drove there — and I thought: ‘I’m going to enjoy doing this.’ When I was in Rome, the city just taught me how to slow down.”
“Italy became so important to me because I was so used to everything moving so quickly and being on the go, but then I remember going to a café and sitting and having a coffee and thinking: ‘I don’t remember the last time I sat down and had a coffee — if I’ve ever sat down and just had a coffee,’” he continued. “I was suddenly learning, through my friends, that eating a meal is more than just sitting down and refuelling. I realized the pleasure in just being in the moment of what you’re doing. The Romans are the best at that — that’s their speciality. The pace they’ve taught me has been so special.”
However, Harry’s sweeping statement that being able to enjoy a slow and measured lifestyle is the “speciality” of locals in Rome has rubbed people the wrong way, with many calling out the star’s distinct lack of awareness of his wealth and privilege, which is what actually affords him the ability to live this way.
One viral tweet, which has been liked more than 100,000 times, reads: “the privilege to call italian life ‘slow’ is so ironic. you are privileged to sit down and sip your coffee in comfort somewhere in italy because you are a wealthy man, not because you’re in italy. dumbass.”
“i fucking hate the way these people talk about sourthen europe as a place where you can have a slow lifestyle as if most people are not overworked here,” somebody else wrote.
An Italian user’s popular tweet translates to English as: “Meanwhile, this says that the Romans are laid-back and in Rome he discovered slow living. ROME. Slow living. The rich truly live in a parallel reality.” Another local wrote: “you only get to enjoy a slow fucking life in rome if you’re a tourist bro, living here is absolute hell, spare us this live love laugh bullshit.”
One more translated Italian tweet says: “It pisses me off when some clueless foreigner reduces a Mediterranean country to just doing fuck all, as if you couldn’t slack off in their damn country.”
“Oh god that man is so privileged and out of touch. This is so disrespectful to the Italian people,” another tweet reads. One more adds: “it’s so funny when famous people go to italy, spain or portugal & say things like ‘the pace of life is so chill you can just sit down, drink coffee & enjoy life’ like they’re not millionaires they can do that anywhere while the locals are working & leave at 7am & get home at 8pm.”
Somebody else referenced Harry’s recent ticket price controversy, writing: “He’s so fucking out of touch, first insane ticket prices, now claiming that rome is ‘slow living’ when in reality he’s just rich and can do whatever.”
In case you missed it, last month, Harry’s fans were left outraged when his upcoming Together, Together Tour went on sale with astronomical ticket prices. The sale came mere days after Harry announced his return to the stage, with the star set to perform more than 50 shows in just seven cities: Amsterdam, London, São Paolo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney.
His only venue in the United States is a 30-night residency at Madison Square Garden — a move that had already been widely criticized by fans, as they pointed out that most will have to factor in travel and accommodation expenses if they want to attend the tour. So, when the presale went live and fans discovered that a single seat could set them back over $1,000, that criticism turned into widespread backlash.
For reference, one person shared a screenshot as they said that “every seat” available for them to buy at MSG was $1,179.40 before taxes. Somebody else shared a screenshot of a seat in MSG priced at $1,002.40 and asked: “am i reading this correct.”
The high prices were the same in other countries, too, with a British fan sharing screenshots of their attempt to buy tickets to Harry’s London shows and writing: “who on earth thinks it’s okay to charge seven hundered great british pounds for a ticket how fucking ridiculous.” One more reposted screenshots of Harry’s Amsterdam tickets that ranged from €348.62 to €828.62 and wrote: “sorry but unless harry is performing the setlist of my choice in my fucking bedroom, this is disgusting.”
Ticketmaster previously stated that these high prices were not a reflection of dynamic pricing on their end, and that the cost of the tickets had been determined by Harry’s team. While in the online queue, fans were presented with the following message: “Tickets for this event have been priced in advance by the tour from $50 – $1,182.40, including service fees. Ticket prices will not change during the presale or onsale. Price ranges do not apply to VIP packages. Tickets are subject to availability.”
Needless to say, the whole thing sparked fierce scrutiny, with one person tweeting: “$1000 for lower bowl at msg is genuinely the most insulting thing ive ever seen. that’s one months rent.” Another viral tweet added: “harry styles i want you to stand in the pit and not let anyone walk in unless they hand you $1200 in cash . look every fan in the eye and ask them for $1200.”
Harry has not publicly commented on the controversy, but later announced a one-night-only show in his home city of Manchester, England, where tickets were avalivable for just £20 (around $27).
What do you make of Harry’s comments about Italy? Let me know down below!