Voices: Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Brooklyn Beckham: Oh, to have the confidence of a white guy

Oh Harry, mate, you were doing so well. You smashed your solo career after leaving One Direction and then you established yourself as bona fide fashion icon (second only to my king, Timothée Chalamet, of course). But then you had to go and ruin it all by pursuing a career in acting.

We could just about stomach your role as a glorified extra in Dunkirk – after all, you barely graced the screen (despite the exaggerated press coverage that made it seem like you took centre stage). Similarly, your flash-in-the-pan appearance in Marvel’s Eternals last year felt more like a last-ditch attempt to get bums in movie theatre seats (it was a sh**e film, let’s face it) than a career changing move.

But being cast as the lead in not one, but two Hollywood movies? It is a step too far. For full transparency, I have not yet seen Olivia Wilde’s much-discussed film Don’t Worry Darling. Perhaps I will be proven wrong. But if the reviews – or the viral clip of his questionable American accent – are anything to go by, I don’t think I will be.

Yes, it’s great to dabble and try new things – we all love a good hobby. However, using your privilege to career hop when the mood takes you, stepping over all the many, many talented individuals who are desperately seeking work, who have spent their entire lives forging a career in that industry, or have a genuine talent for the thing, feels... well, a little tacky.

Harry Styles is, of course, not alone when it comes to straddling professions. From Ed Sheeran’s cringe-inducing cameo in Game of Thrones and Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, to the many, many celebs who pay some ghost writer to type up their life stories and dominate bestseller lists with titles like “I Did It My Way” or “Overcoming All Obstacles” and the Trumps of the world who assume a political career when they’re bored of their extreme wealth and want a side project to distract them – it’s an age-old problem that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Just a few weeks ago, the newly-wedded Brooklyn Peltz Beckham also flaunted the advantages of being able to pick a new career at random, thanks to his mummy and daddy being famous. When asked by TikTokker Daniel Mac what he did for a living, he replied: “I’m a chef” – seemingly misunderstanding what it takes to be a professional cook (ie making bolognese for your wife at home doesn’t count). Then, of course, is the period when he released a so-called “photography book”, complete with insightful captions like “elephants in Kenya so hard to photograph but incredible to see.”

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One can’t help but think of Facebook COO Sheryl Sanberg’s claim in her 2013 book, Lean In, when she stated that women would only apply for jobs if they met 100 per cent of the requirements, whereas men would apply if they met just 60 per cent. It seems very implausable that a woman would have the gall to put themselves forward, time and again, for a role in something which they knew nothing or very little about, or that they weren’t very good at – or both.

Even beyond “career hoppers”, there’s been an abundance of male ego on show as of late. In fact, Styles’ ex-band mate Liam Payne couldn’t resist the opportunity to share how talented and desirable he is in a recent(ish) podcast with Logan Paul. Not only did he falsely claim that his first solo song did a “billion streams” and “outsold everybody within the band”, he also claimed he was Simon Cowell’s chosen one and that he threatened one of his fellow band members who had him pinned to a wall, saying: “If you don’t remove those hands, there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again.”

I mean, is there no end to this chest-puffing nonsense? In part, it is down to millenia worth of reinforcement, but come on, lads – do you not see how cringe this all is?

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.