How he finds time to watch so much, know so much, work so much, is a conundrum. A pop culture magpie, he slides from subject to subject and dares you to keep up. Sitting in the back of a car with someone you’ve never met can be awkward, and I was conflicted. But he’d just received a 24-hour reprieve from work and, shortly before arriving, his publicist suggested I drive back to New York with him. But things are way more fun when Van Ness says them.įor our meeting, I’d taken the train from New York to Philadelphia, where Van Ness was filming an episode of the show, with vague plans to walk to the Liberty Bell. There’s like 15 bajillion eggs in the ovaries and who even knows how many, like, little spermies are in there, so the fact we got to be born and be living this long is kind of like a mathematical who-knew.” This is, I think, a roundabout way of saying we all deserve to be acknowledged. When I ask if any of his encounters on Queer Eye have changed him, he answers: “The act of showing up for your family and being able to live in the world I think is heroic.

In the car he talks quickly, words tumbling out of his mouth in a way that can leave you trailing far behind. Van Ness has a hectic, energetic style and a voice that soars high and then higher. Looking sharp: the Fab Five from the first series of Queer Eye.