Jonathan Van Ness is speaking out against troubling claims about their behavior on the set of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” deeming a Rolling Stone exposé that zoomed in on their “rage issues” to be “overwhelmingly untrue.”
A total of four anonymous “Queer Eye” production sources and three former colleagues spoke to Rolling Stone for the article, published in March. In it, they described Van Ness as a “nightmare” and a “monster” who is “demeaning” and emotionally “abusive.”
On Wednesday’s episode of the “Table Manners” podcast, Van Ness addressed the accusations for what appears to be the first time publicly. Many of the headline-making quotes about them were “taken out of context,” they said, while the article as a whole “isn’t really based in reality.”
“There was this article that was written about ‘Queer Eye’ and myself in March, but our whole ‘Queer Eye’ family had first learned about this article in like December,” the celebrity hairstylist recalled. “So from January to March, I was walking on eggshells being like, ‘When is this going to happen?’ And then it finally did happen.”
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As for the media frenzy that the article ignited, they said, “I think a lot of people were looking for a reason to hate me or looking for a reason to be like, ‘See, I always knew that they were a fake c*nt, and this is the proof.’”
Van Ness sidestepped many of the specific claims about their behavior, other than to note, “I know there were times where I could have been better.” And though they avoided social media for about three weeks after the article was published, they said they couldn’t help but “internalize” some of the criticism.
“It forced me to really learn how to slow down, disengage, and then really love myself,” they said, crediting their family and their husband, Mark Peacock, with offering behind-the-scenes support.
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By most accounts, the Van Ness allegations were the most eyebrow-raising component of Rolling Stone’s article. But several of the outlet’s sources also took aim at Van Ness’ co-stars, Tan France and Antoni Porowski, who they allege had engaged in “mean-girl antics” to get Bobby Berk axed from the show to make room for incoming cast member Jeremiah Brent.
In a short video posted to Instagram days after the article was published, France denied the claim.
“My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired,” he said. “I didn’t put my friend up for the job. They ended up getting it because they were the best person for the job.”
Listen to Van Ness’ “Table Manners” chat below. Their comments on the Rolling Stone claims can be found around the 28:00 mark.