Kamala Harris Meets With ‘Queer Eye’ Creators And Cast To Talk Of Show’s “Groundbreaking” Impact On LGBTQ+ Acceptance: “We Have To Be Vigilant”
When the cast and creators of Queer Eye met with Vice President Kamala Harris in her ceremonial office on Thursday, there was very quickly a reminder that the show’s impact was far greater than style guidance.
Marking Pride Month, Harris called the series “groundbreaking” in that it raised the consciousness of the LGBTQ+ community. She met with executive producers David Collins and Michael Williams, current cast members Karamo Brown and Jonathan Van Ness, and original cast members Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez.
The show launched on Bravo in 2003 and then returned on Netflix in 2018. Kressley said, “One of the most grateful things I have for that show is that so many young people come up to me today … and say, ‘Your show helped me come out because it allowed a safe dialog with my family to say, ‘Oh, he’s OK’.” He even said that some had told him that they were some of the first gay people they met. “I was like, ‘Have you all been on an airplane?'” That drew big laughs in the room — including from the vice president.
Kressley noted that the intent was not to “change the philosophy of our country, but it was a very subversive thing, because we were just coming in an doing good work, and being joyful warriors.” The meeting with the vice president also was to celebrate, a tad late, the show’s 20th anniversary.
