Jonathan Van Ness Says Taylor Swift Confirmed His Celebrity Status
If you're a celebrity having trouble believing you're famous, just have the biggest star on the planet, Taylor Swift, reassure you of your celebrity status, as she did for Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness. It's no surprise Jonathan was hanging out with the pop superstar as the two became friends after the hairdresser and the rest of the Fab 5 starred in Taylor's music video for her 2019 hit, "You Need To Calm Down." A few months later, Jonathan appeared with Taylor at the MTV VMAs, where he praised the singer to interviewers and even presented her with an award for the music video he starred in. Because he was in the video, Jonathan himself won a VMA.
The Queer Eye star rose to fame quickly when the Netflix revival aired in 2018 due to his authentic and outgoing personality. His ability to be himself despite the hate he receives for being a queer man who likes to wear heels and dresses resonated with a lot of his fans and helped them feel free to be their authentic selves as well. Taylor's 2019 song and music video embraced gay culture and fought back against homophobia while also pushing Congress to pass the Equality Act. The Act would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service.
While Jonathan may be a celebrity now, he still finds it hard to process sometimes, but luckily Taylor was there to remind him that he's a huge star. In an interview with Gayle King for SiriusXM Stars, Jonathan revealed that his superstar friend was the one to really help him understand his celebrity status. Gayle mentioned the public's misconception that all famous people must know each other just because they're all famous. She explained this is not the case before Jonathan admitted, "I still feel awkward like even being called famous."
Gayle reassured the star that he is indeed famous, which prompted him to tell a story about when he was hanging out with the "All Too Well" singer cooking dinner, and she reassured him that he is a star. The two were hanging out at Jonathan's house eating soup that Taylor had made when the Fab 5 member mentioned he still feels weird when people recognize him, to which Taylor responded, "Girl, you're famous." The star reacted in the way anyone would act if an 11 time Grammy winner told them they were famous. "If Taylor Swift is sitting in your kitchen and tells you that you're famous, I guess it's true," Jonathan joked. With his millions of social media followers and celebrity friends like Taylor and models Gigi and Bella Hadid, it seems Gayle said it best earlier in their interview, "Look in the mirror Jonathan Van Ness, you are famous."
Being thrust into the spotlight certainly seems like a lot to process. Most people might have a difficult time adjusting to their newfound fame and understanding how well known they are. However, as Gayle suggested, Jonathan is a star whether he knows it or not, and there are few celebrities with the star power of Taylor, so it only makes sense that she would be the one to help the Queer Eye star understand his popularity. Hopefully, thanks to Taylor, Jonathan can start seeing himself as a star just as bright and influential as his singer-songwriter BFF.
Source: SiriusXM/ Twitter