I do love all of the members of Queer Eye‘s Fab Five. I have to admit, I have a special place in my heart for the show’s grooming expert (and the only man I will allow a man bun – although I prefer him without it), Jonathan Van Ness.
JVN has been the talk of social media for his adorable reaction after discovering not only that Queer Eye was nominated for an Emmy, but that he also received a nomination for his web series, Gay of Thrones. His joy is truly contagious. The rest of the guys were equally excited.
On Friday, Jonathan, whose show promotes inclusiveness and overcoming hate, called out rapper Nicki Minaj for appearing in the Russian version of Harper’s Bazaar. He noted the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and told her “this should’ve been a hard pass.”
Russia has anti LGBTQIA propaganda laws, Chechnya supported by Russia tortures it’s LGBTQIA citizens, & w your LGBTQ+ fans you can’t even speak to that in this interview bc it’s illegal in Russia, what’s good @NICKIMINAJ , this should’ve been a hard pass. pic.twitter.com/6WqZdXSKKl
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) July 13, 2018
Some of Jonathan’s 376,000 followers who are also Nicki fans quickly clapped back. One tweeted, “This is like saying no one should be on an American magazine cover unless they support throwing kids in cages at the Mexican border.” Another replied. “Be careful before ppl start projecting this reasoning onto your own media appearances #ily #js (sic).” When someone pointed out that Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Madonna and Bella Hadid had also appeared in Russian magazines, Jonathan offered an appropriate, on-point response.
Im not here for anybody doin it bae & Kate Moss & Naomi are British 😂😂 but equally uncool https://t.co/XcHPyCd9eb
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) July 13, 2018
Jonathan’s Queer Eye cast mate, Karamo Brown, voiced his support for his comments, simply tweeting, “Yessss @jvn Agreed!” After fighting the good fight against the Minaj defenders, Jonathan tweeted, “didn’t mean to start a Twitter war, I’m just disappointed in some people from where I’m sitting in life & start noticing things.”
Anyway really happy today, didn’t mean to start a Twitter war, I’m just disappointed in some people from where I’m sitting in life & start noticing things. Biggest hug to eryone
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) July 13, 2018
I’m really glad that Jonathan took Nicki to task for the cover and interview. He’s a great representative for the LGBTQ community, and his willingness to speak out when he sees something wrong makes me adore him even more. However I do see the other side, that appearance on American magazines doesn’t imply tacit approval of government policies.
Thankfully, we’ll be seeing even more of Jonathan as Queer Eye has just been picked up for a third season on Netflix. The only disappointing thing about the upcoming season is that they are moving from my hometown of Atlanta to Kansas City, Missouri, so I missed out on my fabulous makeover. But at least I can watch an episode without scanning the background for places I know.
Harpers Bazaar Russia
Photo: #gregswalesart
Styling: #joneskcj
Creative: #agpnyc
Hair: #kimblehaircare
Makeup: #OfficialSheiks#Queen: August, 10th pic.twitter.com/oYgVzQJUjv— Chun-Li (@NICKIMINAJ) July 13, 2018
Photos: Getty Images, Instagram
Love love love JVN. I can’t say it enough.
I kind of thought the person who argued this was like saying anyone who appeared on an American cover supports kids in cages made a good point? I feel like the logic here is going over my head.
Because he is an LGBTQ+ activist and not an activist for everything. What you are engaging in is whataboutism. He made his statement about THIS issue. If someone else wants to discuss not doing American covers for legit reasons then they are free to do so.
Sorry, I don’t think I wrote that clearly. I don’t see Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, or Serena Williams as complicit in America’s horrible separation policy because they appeared on the cover of an American magazine this month (SW covered Harper’s). By the same logic, I don’t see Minaj as complicit in anti-LGBTQ+ policies because she appeared on a Russian cover. But, again, perhaps I am just not getting the logic.
Thank YOU! I love JVN on Queer Eye, but this is ridiculous. He really should apologise to Nicki – and I don’t even like her. His approach to this entire situation is nonsensical and illogical. Like multiple other people have already pointed out – why has he only picked on Nicki for appearing on Russian Harper’s? And like you said Hoopjumper, because he’s appeared on American publications, by his logic he is a Trump supporter. Magnoliarose, I respectfully disagree with you. Trump is known to advocate anti-LGBTQ+ causes so again by his logic, JVN is anti-LGBTQ. Also, if he does choose to go after celebrities for appearing on Harper’s, he certainly should not be singling Nicki out – a minority like himself. Lastly, it also seems fruitless to go after a celebrity appearing on Harper’s. Russia and its people are more than just its government and its archaic laws – does that mean Russia should be entirely shut off from the media? I don’t think so.
You could argue that if you appear on the American harpers bazar you can talk about how you oppose this and how horrible it is, while due to the Russian laws they literally can’t print anything about lgbt issues because that would be considered “gay propaganda” and there’s a law against it. So it’s more or less the difference between a country with free speech and one where free speech doesn’t really exist and journalists who are outspoken willl likely lose their jobs and in some cases even their life. So that’s the difference. I still don’t think that appearing on such a magazine should be a problem unless the magazine does specifically support Putin’s agenda in a way that I am not aware of- I think the standards that he seems to set seem too restrictive and limit contact and interaction too much to be helpful to the cause but i get where he is coming from.
His tweet alludes to that, but I wasn’t sure, thank you @lena. It still seems like a bit of a leap to me, but that’s clearly relevant context.
The difference is that media is not controlled in the US. It would be illegal in Russia for Minaj to have even discussed LGBTQ issues and for Harper’s to publish them. Not so in American media where covers are free to discuss what they want and there is no government censorship of content.
This!
Exactly. Russia has state controlled media. There is no freedom of speech. No freedom of the press. Media content is strictly controlled by the state. I don’t watch the Queer Eye reboot (and personally, every time I see a pic of this guy on here, I wonder in what world he would be considered a grooming expert), but I think he makes a very valid point here.
But Serena’s interview doesn’t reference Trump or politics at all. Some important public health info about maternal mortality, but that’s it. Is she now as complicit as Minaj, or perhaps more so because she had the opportunity and didn’t speak? I don’t think either of them should be dragged.
@Agirlandherdog, check it out. He is truly wonderful with the QE candidates and brings out the best in them + he makes homemade products.
Moreover, he is a precious jewel of a human being.
I think my favourite is that the twitter account listing other “US citizens” has a handle with the word “fact” in it. Oh honey. 😂
I was so happy to read on Friday that they’re coming to my Kansas City I even had a dream I met them! I’m not sure why they chose KC. I’m not even here by choice. It’s nice and all but kind of blah. Although it would be nice to see them do away with all the I <3 KC t-shirts that they must have handed out to everyone.
Tania, I’m with you. I’m here in KC too. I also wonder, where did everyone get these shirts? It’s like they’re handing them out on State Line.
I think it’s huge for Nicki to be on a Russian cover. We not only have a problem with LGBTAIQ rights but also with racism. So for her as a black woman to still snatch a cover of a fashion and beauty mag is incredible.
This is Harper Bazaar, an international magazine which is guilty of overlooking the lack of freedom of speech for its own gain. If I owned an international mag I don’t think I would venture in a country where basic human rights are deeply overlooked.
So for me this is even more about Harpers AND Nicky and how appalling it is to blindly accept exposure in this specific context.
The argument that she is a minority herself doesn’t hold for me.
The whataboutism is just plain stupid as JVN is talking about now and not making a black list of previous offenders.
What’s next- going after every female celebrity who poses for Vogue Saudi Arabia?
The fact that a country’s government has terrible policies and practices in place when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues, censorship, or feminism doesn’t even guarantee that every citizen of that country is in support of those policies. If celebrities are personally going to boycott certain countries’ editions of different magazines due to those country’s governments, that’s one thing, but I’m not going to get mad if they don’t.
Or Vogue China, for that matter.
And is no one going to bring up Nicki Minaj’s blatant cultural appropriation with “Chun-Li”?
Whenever his picture is on the website I only see Aiden Turner, is that just me.