Jonathan Van Ness, star of the reality show Queer Eye, has been accused of having “rage issues” and acting like a “monster” while filming.
According to Rolling Stone, several sources close to the production detailed the “fear” that people feel around Van Ness, who identifies as non-binary, when he allegedly gets angry.
“[There’s] a real emotion of fear around them when they get angry,” the source said, referring to Van Ness by his preferred pronoun “they.”
“It’s almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them. It’s intense and scary,” the source added.
Other sources and production members described Van Ness as emotionally “abusive” and “demeaning,” calling him a “nightmare” to work with.
“Jonathan’s a person who contains multitudes and who has the capacity to be very warm, very charismatic, and has the capacity to make you feel really special that they are paying attention to you,” one source said. “But at least once a day, they would need to yell at somebody.”
“It might be something small, but there’s always going to be somebody to point out and blame and make the villain of the day,” the source added.
Van Ness reportedly created tension on set by not wanting to “share the spotlight” with his other Queer Eye co-stars, which include Bobby Berk (who recently left the show), Karamo Brown, Tan France, and Antoni Porowski.
“There was absolutely tension between everybody else, especially from Jonathan Van Ness,” the source said. “He didn’t want to ever share the spotlight with anyone. There were times when we couldn’t even shoot scenes with certain members of the Fab Five together because it got so bad.”
Another source said that “working with him is very difficult in any capacity,” especially if he happens to be in a bad mood on set.
Another source called Van Ness “very hypocritical” for having a “definite contrast between the principles and the values that Jonathan stands for publicly.”
Netflix has not commented on the matter, but sources said that the streaming service had just one meeting with him and that there has been “no accountability” for his “bad behavior.”
In an interview with podcast host Dax Shepard last year, Van Ness broke down in tears when discussing the possibility of teenagers transitioning genders.
“Some people are very uncomfortable about teenagers transitioning,” Shepard said. “They’re challenging that. ‘How do we know the person isn’t going to change their mind?’ And then there’s another counter-argument, ‘Well, if they kill themselves, then that’s really fucking permanent.’ That’s a good counter-argument.”
“I could cry because I’m so tired of having to fight for little kids because they just want to be included,” Van Ness said through tears. “I wish people were as passionate about little kids being able to be included or grow up as they were about fictitious women’s fairness in sports. I have to tell you I am very tired.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.