Music

Billy Porter’s Excellent Grammys Hat Has Become The Biggest Meme On The Internet

Long live Billy Porter.

by Joseph Earp  28 January 2020
Billy Porter Grammys hat

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Few red carpet stars have the style, grace, or sheer panache of Billy Porter.

After all, the man has been stealing headlines with his distinctive outfits since at least 2018. Who can forget the gown that he wore to the 91st Academy Awards? Or how about the gold-soaked fit he daubed himself in for the Met Gala, making his entrance to that event while being carried on a litter by a horde of shirtless men?

But even by Billy Porter standards, the get-up the entertainer wore to the 2020 Grammys was in another league entirely.

Dressed in sparkly deep blue, Porter topped off his outfit with a wide-brimmed hat, one fitted with a small curtain of beads that he could open and close with, uh, a button? Hidden somewhere on his person? It’s not exactly clear.

What is clear, however, is the sheer audacity of the outfit. Once again, Porter is leading the way: from now on, every single celebrity should affix at least one part of their outfit to a small electric motor and make it move.

Unsurprisingly, given its sheer bravura, the fit has been lapped up by the internet, with the slowly-parting bead curtain hat becoming a particular source of joy for meme-makers.

Within hours, Porter’s hat had become a way of expressing general distaste…

The peculiar judgement of McDonald’s workers…

Snippy emails…

Shame…

Climate deniers…

…And an unquenchable desire for potato skins.

Truly, this is already the hat that won’t stop giving.