In Instagram Post, Harry Styles Snaps Back at Candace Owens about 'Manly Men'

In his first comment since conservative pundit Candace Owens slammed him on social media for wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue, Harry Styles snapped back with another pic of himself in feminine attire.

"The singer and actor, 26, posed in a frill-sleeved blouse and a salmon pink silk number for Variety magazine's 2020 Hitmakers Issue as he spoke out about his choice to wear 'female' clothing and the 'blurred lines' of gender," reports the Daily Mail.

In the Instagram post, Styles quotes Owens with the caption, "bring back manly men."

Not one to back down, Owens commented, "When people try to tell me I don't have influence, and then @Harry_Styles dedicates an entire post to my tweet." Owens added that she inspires "global conversation," and ended her post with: "Shots fired."

In an interview in Variety that accompanied the photos, Styles said: "To not wear [something] because it's females' clothing, you shut off a whole world of great clothes.

"And I think what's exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn't have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred."

Owens also entered a Twitter spat with New York politician Frangell Basora, who tweeted that Owens' "hateful comments are inspiring violence against gender-nonconforming people and it is atrocious," adds a report in People Magazine.

"This isn't something to be proud of, @RealCandaceO. It isn't a discussion when people's safety and lives are put at-risk," he continued.

Owens responded: "The Left is literally trying to claim the expression 'Bring Back Manly Men' is an act of violence. You need your head checked, buddy."

The controversy began last month when Styles was the first solo man to be featured on the cover of American Vogue, but did so in a dress. This infuriated Owens, who saw the pic as an example of the decline of masculinity in American culture.

"There is no society that can survive without strong men," she tweeted. "The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men."

"Styles donned a lace-trimmed dress and tuxedo jacket crafted by his friend, muse and Gucci's creative director, Alessandro Michele, on the cover of the December issue," adds People. "The headline 'Harry Styles Makes His Own Rules' accompanies an idyllic photo of the 26-year-old singer blowing up a balloon."