Thursday, June 27th, was a historic day for the fab five. Cast members, new and old, from the groundbreaking reality makeover series Queer Eye joined Vice President Kamala Harris in The White House for a conversation on the show, Pride, and LGBTQ visibility!
Watch the full conversation here:
The conversation featured Queer Eye creators and executive producers David Collins and Michael Williams with original and current cast members Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez, Karamo Brown and Jonathan van Ness.
Harris commended the creatives behind this GLAAD Media Award winning series that has helped advance LGBTQ representation in the early 2000s and beyond. They also discussed the current landscape of LGBTQ rights in the United States, the attacks on civil rights, and the upcoming election and its consequences.
Harris stated that, “The idea that it’s a sign of weakness to have empathy, when in fact isn’t that a sign of the strength of character – which is to have some level of concern and care for the suffering of other people and take it upon yourself to do something about it? I think we all agree it is actually a character strength.” She went on to say, “The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”
Carson Kressley, who starred in the original Queer Eye series, shared that, “It was not meant to be something to change the philosophy of our country, but it was a very subversive thing because we were coming in doing good work being joyful warriors.”
They went on to discuss how Harris’s vision of Pride is helping shape the country’s attitude. “You also tell this story how life is like a relay when we’re here, so that the people who came before us, who carried the baton to the people who are here now, who are currently carrying the baton to the young people that are coming… Happy Pride, Honey!” JVN stated.
This conversation took place on the 20-year-anniversary of both the premiere of the original series and the date the Vice President initiated California’s first same-sex marriage!
Be sure to stream Queer Eye on Netflix!