British singer Harry Styles recently made headlines when he drank water out of his shoe during a concert in Australia’s Perth on Monday. The singer who recently bagged a Grammy for Album of the Year surprised his fans with the gesture. According to sources, the act is a cult Australian drinking tradition where a person pours a beverage in someone’s or their own shoe, typically beer and drinks from it. A clip of Harry performing the custom was shared on Twitter.
During his performance, the singer took a sip from one of his shoes, filled it with liquid, and then, without hesitation, drank the entire contents of the shoe before re-putting it on his foot. According to reports, the tradition was popularized by Daniel Ricciardo. Harry remarked, ”This is one of the most awful customs ever." Additionally, he claimed that after doing it, he felt like "a new person" and that he will talk "at length" with his therapist about it.
The act left many fans of the singer disgusted and shocked. One user commented on Twitter, “Why did I have to see this?” Another fan wrote, “Why Harry why.” “I love how grossed out everyone is about this who isn’t from Australia (laughing emoticon) this is a standard drinking practice for us hahaha,” read a comment.
Some fans were also supportive of the singer. A user commented on Twitter, “I actually love how he does these little things like this at these places to make his fans feel good and to show how comfortable he is and how fun he is. It’s the tradition of the place and his disgusted reaction was so funny we won.”
This was Harry’s first performance after winning all four of the categories in which he was nominated at the Brit Awards last week, including song of the year, best album, the best artist, and best pop/R&B act.