Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
Ellen DeGeneres did not make things easy for her guest Harry Styles. In addition to asking point-blank whether his new album Fine Line was inspired by a breakup (his with Camille Rowe, although she didn’t name names), she also let the interview get pretty awkward when talking about his other ex-girlfriend Kendall Jenner. Styles attempted to breeze past the moments with tact, but it still got a little weird. Blame it on both DeGeneres and Styles.
Styles, dressed fabulously in a Stay Away from Toxic People sweater and pearl necklace, was being asked about his stint guest hosting for James Corden on the Late Late Show.
“So when you hosted for James Corden, your guests were Tracee Ellis Ross and Kendall Jenner. And you and Kendall are really good friends now, right?” DeGeneres asked.
“Yeah, we’ve been friends for um, a while now, yeah. Like several years,” Styles replied.
“That’s sweet that y’all are really good friends,” DeGeneres acknowledged, without saying point blank that was because they once dated.
“Yeah,” Styles replied.
“Yeah,” DeGeneres echoed. She was about to transition to a different topic, but then Styles made one last nervous remark. And that’s when it started to get awkward for a minute because DeGeneres let it get awkward.
“Yeah,” Styles said again, with a sheepish laugh. “I think so, yeah.”
“Yeah,” DeGeneres said back, pausing instead of just changing the subject.
“Right,” Styles said.
“Right,” DeGeneres said. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Harry said, taking a sip of his drink. And then DeGeneres transitioned to whether or not his album was about a breakup. Styles gracefully non-answered that question. You can watch the full exchanges at the 1:00 mark: