“Queer Eye” personal grooming guru Jonathan Van Ness slammed the sluggish response from government as the monkeypox outbreak grew, citing “homophobia and transphobia” as factors.
Van Ness aired their thoughts in an essay for Time Magazine, recalling that just before the first confirmed cases in the U.S., they had interviewed author Steven Thrasher about Thrasher’s book “The Viral Underclass,” which examines “how different classes of people bear an unfair burden of the cost of viruses” and the role of social structures in viral outbreaks.
The book’s topic has a direct bearing on the monkeypox outbreak, Van Ness suggested, writing, “When an outbreak affects mainly men who have sex with men, some portion of our elected legislators will have no incentive to act. They think it will not touch their constituents, which is obviously messed up because people’s lives are at stake, and there are queer people in all 50 states.”
The podcaster and hair stylist stated, “Watching the government’s botched response to monkeypox has been surreal, and in many ways, I believe it’s been fueled by homophobia and transphobia.”
Van Ness also pointed to the health care disparities and wealth gap that many in the LGBTQ+ community experience firsthand.
“I’m really lucky that I’m in a place in my life where I’m housed, have money, and have access to protection,” the celebrity hairdresser wrote. “But I’m really concerned about the queer community and the people who are going to be asked to isolate for three weeks at a time because they tested positive — the people who are going through excruciating pain and don’t have what I have.”
