E257: Queer Eye Star Opens Up About Hitting Rock Bottom: Jonathan Van Ness

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

FlightStory

Society & Culture, Business, Education

4.6 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2023

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jonathan began his career as a hairdresser, however in 2013 while giving a haircut he captured the attention of a creator for the comedy video website, ‘Funny Or Die’. This was the start of Jonathan’s hit ‘Gay of Thrones’ web series which was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series. In 2018, Jonathan was catapulted into fame as the grooming expert in the Netflix series ‘Queer Eye’. Since 2015, he has hosted a weekly podcast, ’Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness’, and in 2019 he released his New York Times best-selling memoir, ‘Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love’. In 2021, Jonathan launched ‘JVN Hair’, a gender inclusive, sustainable, cruelty-free haircare brand.

In this conversation Jonathan and Steven discuss topics, such as:

Jonathan’s intense childhood
His drug and sex addiction
His journey into sex work and how he lost control of his life
The challenges he has faced with rapid fame
The increasing transphobia and attack on trans people in the US

You can purchase all of Jonathan’s ‘JVN’ hair products, here: https://bit.ly/3CyBBdK

Follow Jonathan:

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3CzC6UG

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pcXdZR

TikTok: https://bit.ly/3JhaOX9

The conversation cards are back in stock! - bit.ly/41JuSYH Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/3kxINCANKsb My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' per order link: https://smarturl.it/DOACbook Follow me: Instagram: http://bit.ly/3nIkGAZ Twitter: http://bit.ly/3ztHuHm Linkedin: https://bit.ly/41Fl95Q Telegram: http://bit.ly/3nJYxST Sponsors: Huel: https://g2ul0.app.link/G4RjcdKNKsb Blue jeans: https://g2ul0.app.link/NCgpGjVNKsb

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I think it's actually still kind of hard for me to talk about, but I am down to go there.
0:04.3	Your square chin makes me feel safe.
0:06.0	You're still on it, Ben!
0:08.3	Ben!
0:09.3	Ness!
0:10.3	The comedian and beauty stylist, you know from Clear Eye.
0:13.5	What are Ness and Penny?
0:15.4	The conversation starts on a corn field and rural Illinois being a queer, feminine child.
0:22.4	It's hard.
0:23.4	There was sexual abuse and there was bullying, but all that trauma came back into the
0:27.4	most destructive era.
0:28.7	Had my face in a plate of coke, then I discovered sex work, I got HIV, I put myself in so many
0:33.6	really dangerous situations.
0:34.9	Someone pulled a gun on you.
0:35.9	Uh-huh.
0:36.9	Take me into that room.
0:37.9	We start off hairdresser and now your name is on the marquee of Radio City.
0:43.6	Schedule's been crazy.
0:44.9	How are you feeling?
0:45.9	Great fall and at the same time, it really frustrated.
0:48.6	I just see so much transphobic garbage all over the place.
0:51.6	People really think that there's little kids going to school as a boy and coming home as
	...

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