‘Queer Eye’ Stars on How to Talk to ‘All Lives Matter’ People

By Chris Azzopardi

In this current moment of civil unrest and racial tension, Queer Eye stars Karamo Brown (culture), Jonathan Van Ness (grooming) and Antoni Porowski (food and wine) are speaking out and up about the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of self-care in sustaining the fight for justice. Their Emmy Award-winning Netflix show, a reboot of the original that also features Bobby Berk (interior design) and Tan France (fashion), has been a model for moving through the world the best you can and by showing up as your best self. So the fifth season, currently on Netflix, couldn’t have come at a better time.

For the 10 episodes in the current season, the Fab Five headed east to Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, to offer confidence and encouragement to a diverse group of their heroes seeking ways to improve their lives, from a gay pastor to a struggling Black entrepreneurial dog groomer.

Interviewer Chris Azzopardi caught up with Van Ness, Brown, and Porowski, who weighed in on the Black Lives Matter movement and how to talk to “All Lives Matter” people. “Those individuals who are saying ‘all lives matter,” I would take it from an emotional stance of saying, ‘What are you scared you’re gonna lose by saying this other person’s life is of value?’” Brown said during the video interview.