Noah Cyrus apologizes after using racist term to defend Harry Styles

Noah Cyrus, the sister of Miley Cyrus, has been forced to apologize on social media this week after using a racist term to defend Harry Styles.

The controversy began when the former One Direction singer became Vogue's first-ever male cover model and donned a black Gucci jacket and long green dress for his appearance in the fashion magazine's December issue.

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Commenting on his love of fashion, Styles told Vogue: "What's really exciting is that all of these lines are just kind of crumbling away."

"When you take away: 'There's clothes for men and there's clothes for women,' once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play. [sic]"

He added: "Any time you're putting barriers up in your own life, you're just limiting yourself. I think if you get something that you feel amazing in, it's like a superhero outfit. Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with."

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Although many praised Styles' sartorial choices, the 26-year-old singer's Vogue cover was met with criticism from a vocal minority of commentators.

For instance, African-American right-wing pundit Candace Owens tweeted:

"There is no society that can survive without strong men. 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. [sic]"

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However, a large number of other people have defended Harry's decision to wear women's clothes. In a post made on her Instagram stories, Cyrus wrote to her 6 million followers: "He wears this dress better than any of u n***y a** h****z."

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Cyrus' comments were met with a strong backlash from a number of Twitter users, including Candace Owens herself, who believed that the racially-charged remark was directed at her personally, and made sure to share a screenshot for posterity.

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Owens captioned her post: "Any one of woke liberals care to explain to me how @noahcyrus calling me a 'nappy ass hoe' is not racist? I’m all ears. You guys love cancel culture. @MileyCyrus come get your sister!"

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Cyrus herself apologized for her remarks in another statement posted to her Instagram stories on Thursday, November 3, writing: "I am mortified that I used a term without knowing the context and history, but I know now and I am horrified and truly sorry."

Yet Cyrus is far from the first celebrity to fight in Harry's corner. Recently, YouTuber and influencer Logan Paul defended Styles.