Harry Styles Subjected To More ‘Fantasy’ Reporting In The Media

To many fans, Harry Styles is simply a dreamboat and a talented singer. To others, One Direction star Harry is the focus of almost obsessional devotion. Sadly for some in the media, Styles is simply gossip fodder, a means to fill column inches and sell newspapers. Styles can rarely leave home without being plagued by paparazzi photographers and gossip hounds. As was reported in the Daily Mail recently, 22-year-old Harry can’t even receive a parking ticket without someone being on hand to photograph the event.

As a member of One Direction, Harry understands that every aspect of his life is under constant scrutiny. We live in a 24-hour society, and the advent of social media and 24-hour news means that there is a constant desire for information. Styles knows that when One Direction were making their name, their management did everything and anything they could to keep them in the papers. Harry knows that media exposure is essential for a successful career in the music industry. In many ways, the price of fame for Styles and his bandmates is that chunks of your life become public property.

As Styles has discovered, the problem is that the media is an insatiable monster. Some sections of the gutter press do not want news about Harry or One Direction — they want a scandal. Over the years, the media has had an obsession with who Harry is dating. As every Styles fan knows, since the new year there have been numerous reports linking Harry with Kendall Jenner. As reported by the Inquisitr last week we were fed a diet of stories claiming that Styles and Jenner are dating or that they are not dating.

To a degree, reporting on celebrity gossip is understandable, as we live in a world seemingly obsessed with celebrity. As a major player in that world, Styles understands that he will be the subject of rumor and gossip.

Sadly, some outlets seem unable to stick to the truth or the gossip. Instead, when there is no real news to report about Harry, they make something up.

Last month, the Daily Star reported that Kendall Jenner had claimed that Harry had a real problem with body odor. Not content to report that revelation, they went beyond the pale to claim that “Harry Styles has breathtaking body odour that goes beyond BO.” They even claimed that Kendall would make the “revelations” in an upcoming episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

The problem is that not a word was true, and the U.K. tabloid was forced to print an apology to Styles. Sadly, with something like this, as Gossip Cop reports, dozens of other outlets had quoted the story and reported it as fact.

Fans of Harry and One Direction are aware that this is far from the first time that the Daily Star has ended up in hot water over inaccurate reporting about One Direction. Back in December, the Guardian reported that Harry’s bandmate Niall Horan had won the first round in a legal battle with the Daily Star. On that occasion, Niall was taking action because it was implied that he was using crystal meth or crack cocaine during an evening spent with Justin Bieber and Cody Simpson.

This is far from the first time that the Daily Star has reported erroneously on Harry. They recently reported incorrectly that Styles was going to join the cast of Scream Queens. Last year, they had to issue an apology to Harry after printing a fake nude photo of him. The Press Gazette reported that the tabloid was sued by Harry after falsely stating under the headline “1D Harry X-Rated Sex Pic Shame” that Styles had posted explicit pictures of himself online.

When Styles and his bandmates are subjected to this kind of reporting, is it any wonder that Harry is currently trying to maintain a low profile?

[Photo by Vantage News/IPx/AP]