Jonathan Van Ness breaks his silence over shock Queer Eye set exposé
- The 37-year-old blasted the bombshell report which had claims that he was emotionally ‘abusive’ on set of the reality series as not being ‘based in reality’
- Jonathan said their castmates first learned of the expose back in December 2023 and they claimed that a lot of the information that had been gathered was ‘taken out of context’ in order to make them look ‘as bad as possible’
- They were accused in the Rolling Stone expose of being ’emotionally abusive’, having ‘rage issues’, and being a ‘nightmare’
Queer Eye star Jonathan van Ness broke his silence after being labeled a ‘monster’ in a shocking Rolling Stone exposé about the hit Netflix series published in March.
The 37-year-old, who is nonbinary but uses all pronouns, blasted the bombshell report which had claims that he was emotionally ‘abusive’ on set of the reality series as not being ‘based in reality.’
They appeared on the Table Manners With Jessie And Lennie Ware podcast on Tuesday as they said: ‘I think a lot of people were like looking for a reason to hate me or like looking for a reason to be like, ‘See, I always knew that they were a fake c*** and this is the proof.’
Jonathan thanked the support system she has while saying they tried to keep off of social media during that period.
The reality star explained: ‘My family was so supportive of my husband and my team, but I didn’t even get on social media or, like, look at my phone for three weeks.’
Queer Eye star Jonathan van Ness broke his silence after being labeled a ‘monster’ in a shocking Rolling Stone exposé about the hit Netflix series published in March
Jonathan said their castmates first learned of the expose back in December 2023 and they claimed that a lot of the information that had been gathered was ‘taken out of context’ in order to make them look ‘as bad as possible.’
They said: ‘I think people forget no matter how famous you are you’re still a person.
‘That article came at like an incredibly vulnerable time, like for my hair care company, for like my whole career. It just was really rough.’
Jonathan went on to completely the article as being ‘completely untrue’ and alleged that it was done ‘in bad faith.’
However they did admit that there may have been some times when they had snapped at people or ‘could have done better.’
Back in March, Rolling Stone published a bombshell report.
According to multiple production sources, who all spoke to the publication anonymously, Van Ness made the show increasingly difficult to produce due to his behind-the-scenes behavior.
They were accused of being ’emotionally abusive’, having ‘rage issues’, and being a ‘nightmare’.
The 37-year-old, who is nonbinary but uses all pronouns, blasted the bombshell report which had claims that he was emotionally ‘abusive’ on set of the reality series as not being ‘based in reality’; the new Queer Eye cast is pictured
Back in March, Rolling Stone published a bombshell report as according to multiple production sources, who all spoke to the publication anonymously, Van Ness made the show increasingly difficult to produce due to his behind-the-scenes behavior
The 36-year-old, who is nonbinary but uses all pronouns, was accused of being ’emotionally abusive’ and having ‘rage issues’
Queer Eye, starring Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Karamo Brown, premiered on Netflix in 2018 and immediately became a pop culture phenomenon
‘There’s a real emotion of fear around them when they get angry. It’s almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them,’ claimed one source.
‘It’s intense and scary,’ they added, further claiming that Van Ness was a ‘yeller’ who would ‘explode once a week’.
One source said that Van Ness has a ‘very warm, very charismatic’ side to their personality which is what the public sees, but there’s another side that comes out behind the scenes.
‘At least once a day, they would need to yell at somebody. It might be something small, but there’s always going to be somebody to point out and blame and make the villain of the day,’ they alleged.
Rolling Stone also claims that the Queer Eye cast were engaged in ‘petty disputes and competition’ with each other over screen time and who was the ‘top star’ on the show.
Dailymail.com has reached out to Van Ness’ management for comment.
Queer Eye, starring Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Van Ness, premiered on Netflix in 2018 and immediately became a pop culture phenomenon.
‘There’s a real emotion of fear around them when they get angry. It’s almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them,’ claimed one source
One source said that Van Ness has a ‘very warm, very charismatic’ side to their personality which is what the public sees, but there’s another side that comes out behind the scenes
Rolling Stone also claims that the Queer Eye cast were engaged in ‘petty disputes and competition’ with each other over screen time and who was the ‘top star’ on the show
Interior designer Berk quit the series last November after six years to focus on other projects.
While each cast member has gone on to find success on their own terms, Van Ness was arguably the breakout star of the series.
Not only does Van Ness have the most social media followers of the group, he’s also published three books -including a New York Times bestseller- and launched the hit podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.
The podcast was turned into its own standalone Netflix series in 2022.
Van Ness also has a successful haircare line called JVN, which is stocked in Sephora.
Last September, Van Ness made headlines after he burst into tears during a discussion about transgenderism on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.
The pair got into a debate after Van Ness, who uses multiple pronouns interchangeably and described himself as a ‘nonbinary f***ing trans person’ during a heated moment, initially pushed back against Shepard’s contention that the New York Times was a left-leaning newspaper.
The reality star pointed to a string of articles that ran in the Times about controversies involving transgender adolescents and their gender-affirming care, which critics have said focus on the complaints of transphobes and overemphasize ‘rare’ complications or regrets from transitioning, while simultaneously downplaying the voices of actual transgender people.
Van Ness — who has previously complained about having to repeatedly explain the importance of personal pronouns — stated that the New York Times ‘absolutely is’ a right-leaning publication, at least in its coverage of transgender issues, and they shed some tears as the back-and-forth continued.
Van Ness is the breakout star of Queer Eye and even has his own haircare line
The reality star also has his own podcast, which was turned into a standalone Netflix series
Shepard went on to defend the paper and those who claim to have concerns about transgender children being allowed to begin the process of transitioning.
‘Some people are very uncomfortable about teenagers transitioning. They’re challenging that. How do we know that the person’s not gonna change their mind?’ Shepard said.
‘To even question it makes you an enemy. I don’t think that’s the way forward,’ Shepard added, before he invited Van Ness to share his opinion.
However, the hairstylist-turned-TV star found the topic far more personal than the academic exercise that Shepard appeared to treat it as, and they snapped that having the conversation made them ‘feel like I’m talking to my dad.’
Van Ness then said that transgender athletes do not have the kinds of competitive advantages over cisgender competitors that detractors have claimed, before accusing Shepard of being ‘exposed to misinformation and disinformation’.
‘I’m a nonbinary f***ing trans person. When I talk to my dad or people who say similar things, it’s hard to be cool through that,’ Van Ness declared. ‘I’m not calling you a transphobe. You can not be transphobic and still have thoughts that espouse trans misogyny and espouse transphobic ideologies or beliefs and not be transphobic.’
Van Ness made headlines after he burst into tears during a discussion about transgenderism on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast last year
Van Ness became distraught when challenged on transgerdism and accused Shepard of being ‘exposed to misinformation and disinformation’
In an interview in 2022, Van Ness, who is biologically male, claimed that they faced ‘misogyny’ due to his gender identity.
‘As a nonbinary trans person who is very femme, I feel that I’ve faced a lot of the misogyny,’ JVN explained on the Into The Gloss podcast.
‘I’m obviously not a woman so I don’t know what it is to be a woman and that’s not what I’m saying, but misogyny doesn’t only affect women,’ he continued.
‘And I think that’s what’s so hard for trans people and gender nonconforming people, is like, misogyny is an energy, it’s like a thing, and so is the patriarchy. It’s like this insidious thing and it effects everyone, obviously in different ways.’
In an interview in 2022, Van Ness, who is biologically male, claimed that they faced ‘misogyny’ due to his gender identity
Van Ness identifies by a variety of different pronouns which span the gender spectrum.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the multifaceted star said he’s comfortable with all identifiers, from masculine and feminine to non-binary.
‘When I say, he, she, they, whatever, I mean it because I feel like in ways I am all of those things and I’m none of those things at the same time,’ Van Ness said.
‘That’s why I feel like whether you want to say he, she or they, it is okay for me,’ he continued.
‘If it is they or she, for me who I am is so much more than what that means to other people and to me.
‘That is where I come at it and why I identify as he, she or they because I feel like I’m everything and I feel like I’m nothing at the same time. That is kind of existential, but it is how I see it.’
