Unfortunately, Mick Jagger can’t seem to get any satisfaction from the Harry Styles comparisons. He went down the list of their supposed similarities with The Times, shooting each one down.
When it comes to Styles’ fashions, Jagger said, “I mean, I used to wear a lot more eye make-up than him. I was more androgynous.” It makes sense that Jagger wouldn’t be too impressed by Styles wearing women’s clothing and accessories, seeing as he already did it decades ago when it wasn’t as widely accepted. His second critique was harsher, saying Styles “doesn’t have a voice like mine or move on stage like me.”
This isn’t the first time a music legend has denied a younger disciple their seal of approval: in 2012, Madonna called Lady Gaga’s music “reductive,” and Prince reportedly felt similarly about Justin Timberlake. However, even if Jagger isn’t a fan of the comparisons, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a fan of Styles. He never said that Styles wasn’t as good as him, just that they were different. In 2015, he told The Press, “[Harry’s] got it going on. I know him, he comes to see me in lots of shows. And yeah, I can see the influence … I like him. He’s very decent.”