Miley Cyrus' sister Noah has been forced to apologise after using a racist remark in an attempt to defend Harry Styles. Photo / Supplied
Noah Cyrus has admitted on Thursday that she was mortified after accidentally using racist remarks while defending Harry Styles against Candace Owens' call to "bring back manly men."
The 20-year-old younger sister of Miley Cyrus was defending Styles when she was making the remark, which was at the expense of conservative commentator Candace Owens.
It comes after Owens' criticised Styles wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue.
Cyrus stated in an Instagram Story that Styles looks "better than any of u nappy ass heauxz" in his dress.
In the US, there is a great deal of sensitivity surrounding the word "nappy" – which dates back to the 17th century when slavery was rife – and is seen as a deeply offensive term used to describe coiled hair of African-Americans, especially when used by a white person.
The Make Me singer received a considerable amount of backlash over the post before deleting it and re-uploading an apology to her Instagram Story.
"I am mortified that I used a term without knowing the context and history,' she said, 'but I know now and I am horrified and truly sorry. I will never use it again. Thank you for educating me."
Styles himself has recently responded to the criticism from Owens, uploading a photo of himself in a frilly suit, eating a banana. As the caption, he used her own words: "Bring back manly men."
In response, Owens said that, "When people try to tell me I don't have influence, and then [Styles] dedicates an entire post to my tweet."
Styles made history posing as the first solo male to ever star on the cover of US Vogue in its 127-year history.
For the occasion, he wore a ball gown with a custom Gucci jacket.
After the hype, right-wing commentator Owens wrote: "There is no society that can survive without strong men … bring back manly men.
She described it as "the steady feminisation of our men", in a thread of tweets.
Owens addressed the controversy her comments made.
"Since I'm trending I'd like to clarify what I meant when I said 'bring back manly men'," she wrote in response. "I meant: Bring back manly men.
"Terms like 'toxic masculinity', were created by toxic females. Real women don't do fake feminism," she continued. "Sorry I'm not sorry."
On user hit back at her claims with: "50 years behind on culture and education", pointing out that male artists – such as Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Kurt Cobain – have been 'cross-dressing' for decades.
Owens replied: "PSA: Mining pictures on the internet of men in dresses is not going to suddenly make me attracted to men in dresses.
"I'm impervious to woke culture,' she said. 'Showing me 50 examples of something won't make it any less stupid. #BringBackManlyMen."
One of her fellow right-wing commentator's Matt Walsh voiced support for Owens with, writing that she was trending on Twitter "because of a bunch of whiney idiots are mad that she said men who wear dresses aren't manly.
"Her statement, of course, is true and utterly self-evident, and would have provoked no reaction as recently as a decade ago," Walsh continued.
Owens responded: "Wait until they find out that I also think women should be feminine – and I enjoy cooking for and taking care of my husband. DEFCON 1", accompanied by a GIF of Elmo engulfed in flames.
Celebrities have since come out to defend Harry Styles, including Olivia Wilde, the current director behind the upcoming movie, Don't Worry Darling, where Harry stars as the lead role.
Owens was quick to hit back at Wilde for recently splitting with actor Jason Sudeikis, "You're single for a reason."
The tweet was later deleted.
Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood also offered his opinion on Monday, writing: "I think you've missed the definition of what a man is. Masculinity alone does not make a man."
"DON'T TEMPT ME, FRODO," she wrote in response, before later adding: "Sorry. One of my favourite movies. Couldn't miss the opportunity. I'm only human."
In the Vogue interview with Harry Styles, he addressed his take on clothes.
He said: "Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with … 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."
Styles said he was inspired by David Bowie, Prince, Elvis, Freddie Mercury and Elton John, whom he says also influence him musically.
He added: "I'll go in shops sometimes, and I just find myself looking at the women's clothes thinking they're amazing.
"It's like anything – anytime you're putting barriers up in your own life, you're just limiting yourself. There's so much joy to be had in playing with clothes."