Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness Defends Alleged “Nightmare” Behavior

July 5, 2024
ALEXANDER

Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness Defends Alleged "Nightmare" Behavior

What started off as such a positive and representational franchise in 2003, helping to kickstart Bravo TV, Queer Eye has become a big mess. The franchise's original cast had camaraderie, was devoted to the show, and had such sincere energy that the show couldn't help but be a success and become a mainstream phenomenon. More than ten years after the original series ended, Netflix rebooted the series with an all-new cast. Everyone was waiting to recapture that magic from the original. Um...the show is well-produced, that is for sure. But something seemed to be missing. It's hard to appreciate a reboot of anything without comparing it to the original, but how could we not?

First of all, the new Queer Eye seemed to try too hard. The original had magic in its simplicity, the reboot threw everything at the wall. We were glad to see such diversity, but the cast just never seemed to click. In addition, the majority of the new cast seemed more interested in promoting their individual products, books, and appearances than focusing on the show that brought them there. It just wasn't as fun and if you ask our circle of gays, we weren't really tuning in. What we have been tuning into is the drama and whispers that have been coming from behind the scenes. Over the last couple of years, that drama has been made public. Particularly when it came to cast members Bobby Berk and Jonathan Van Ness.

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In January, we reported that Queer Eye cast member Bobby Berk was not returning to the series. He was interviewed by Vanity Fair and spilled all. He did say he had beef with colleague Tan France, to the point of unfollowing him on social media. He went on to say that wasn't the final straw in him leaving. He left to pursue other career projects. To be fair, they did seem to edit out a lot of his stuff in the final episode. So he's gone.

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Then, the damning article by Rolling Stone came out. Allegedly sourced by crew and creatives from Queer Eye, the article talked about ego and jealousy between cast members plaguing the set. Especially revealing were the allegations of Jonathan Van Ness's diva and abusive behavior, to the point the network had supposedly talked to them about it. The article went on to say that sometimes they had to pause filming to deal with their daily rage. Well, they finally addressed it all. And they are not apologizing, they are denying it.

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Van Ness appeared on the Table Manners podcast and spilled the tea. First, they say that because of their place in the spotlight, people might have been looking for an excuse to hate them. They also say they avoided social media because each time they tried to engage it was just a bedful of hate. "I think people forget no matter how famous you are, you’re still a person." He also references his hair company and how the article came out at a bad time for them. They also refute the article but do admit that there have been moments of stress, and then addressed their own abuse and how they just need to love themselves. Hmmm...no apology detected.