Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are fully aware that the singer's fandom is no longer as it was before their romance.
Although the singer—who's had fans buzzing since he began dating the Don't Worry Darling director in late 2020—is hardly on social media, as he revealed, the 28-year-old knows of the negative response some fans have had to his personal life.
"That obviously doesn't make me feel good," Harry told Rolling Stone in a cover story published Aug. 22. "It's obviously a difficult feeling to feel like being close to me means you're at the ransom of a corner of Twitter or something. I just wanted to sing. I didn't want to get into it if I was going to hurt people like that."
As for Olivia, although the 38-year-old called the collective of his fans, "deeply loving people," she added, "What I don't understand about the cruelty you're referencing is that that kind of toxic negativity." Calling it "the antithesis of Harry, and everything he puts out there," she clarified, "I don't personally believe the hateful energy defines his fan base at all. The majority of them are true champions of kindness."
After news of the couple's romance seemed to be confirmed with their attendance at a wedding in January 2021, Olivia faced a slew of criticism from Harry's fans online. Per Buzzfeed, some fans flooded her social media with comments accusing the director of "stealing" him, adding that she should be "ashamed" of their relationship.
Earlier this year, Olivia—who shares kids Otis, 8, and Daisy, 5, with ex Jason Sudeikis—reflected on having to resist the temptation of addressing the spectacle surrounding her love life.
"It's obviously really tempting to correct a false narrative," Wilde told Vogue in January 2022, when asked if she wanted to address her personal life. "But I think what you realize is that when you're really happy," she continued, "it doesn't matter what strangers think about you. All that matters to you is what's real, and what you love, and who you love."
Emphasizing the attention everyone has received "as a society," due to social media, Olivia explained that she simply values the opinions of those closest to her, adding, "I'm happier than I've ever been. And I'm healthier than I've ever been, and it's just wonderful to feel that."