Jonathan Van Ness has been accused of being emotionally "abusive" and having "rage issues" on the set of Queer Eye, according to sources who spoke to Rolling Stone as part of a report on the inner workings of the show.
Debuting in 2018, the reimagined version of Queer Eye saw its new Fab Five making over people from across the country. It put the cast into the spotlight, with Jonathan as a notable breakout star. They boast the highest Instagram follower count of any cast member.
The recent rollout of Season 8 of the Netflix hit show, which premiered in January, has proved reportedly tumultuous. The show is further going through a major change as designer Bobby Berk announced his departure from the show in November 2023, making him the first of the Fab Five to exit the series and Season 8 his last. Last week, Netflix announced Jeremiah Brent will be taking over Bobby's role.
Rolling Stone spoke to a number of Queer Eye production sources about the state of affairs behind the scenes, including Jonathan's alleged behavior. Sources depicted Jonathan as a “monster,” “nightmare,” and “demeaning” person.
“[There’s] a real emotion of fear around them when they get angry. It’s almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them,” one source who worked with Jonathan told the publication. “It’s intense and scary.” Another production source called the reality star a "yeller" and said that they would explode weekly.
“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,” another source who worked with Jonathan told the publication. “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.”
Two sources further said that certain members of the Fab Five, including Bobby, subsequently didn't want to shoot scenes with them. “There was absolutely tension between everybody else, especially from Jonathan Van Ness,” another production member told Rolling Stone. “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.”
"Working with him is very difficult in any capacity," another source said, with two sources further alleging that Jonathan's mood would then impact the overall set.
“There’s a definite contrast between the principles and the values that Jonathan stands for publicly,” a source who worked with Jonathan told Rolling Stone. “They’re really centered around having this warmth, love, and care for other people. There’s a real contrast between that and the way that they treat the people who are closest to them across the board. It’s the opposite of what this person is touted and paid to be.”
BuzzFeed has reached out to representatives for Jonathan, Bobby, and Netflix for comment.
You can read the full Rolling Stone report here.