Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness took to Instagram on Friday to respond to disgraced former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock’s decision to finally come out publicly as gay this week.
“The amount of queens I’m seeing like Aaron Schock’s [Instagram] is such a lol,” Van Ness wrote on his own Instagram story, bemoaning both “this man and the media coverage around [his coming out].”
Van Ness alluded to the continuing fight for equality, noting that the Supreme Court is considering whether it’s legal for employers to fire people for being LGBTQ, and that homeless queer youth are still “finding ways to defy the odds.”
“Ya’ll, this man lived in the closet while voting against LGBTQ interests for years,” Van Ness wrote. “He screams about how he was victimized as he continues not giving back to the community he legislated against. Also his apology wholly dodges any responsibility in the awful actions he [perpetrated] against our community. But yes Aaron, have fun at Coachella and glad you’ve joined the fight. I hope you actually work to undo your legacy.”
Van Ness, who hails from the same area of Illinois as Schock, shared a link to a 2015 Washington Post story featuring Annie Brahler, the former congressman’s “interior designer from my hometown who quite hysterically defends their TACKY design choices.” Brahler was behind Schock’s $40,000 Downton Abbey-inspired office, which fueled the scrutiny that ultimately led to his resignation from Congress.
“Aaron Schock voted against repealing don’t ask don’t tell & various hate crime bills,” Van Ness wrote. “While it should be noted I think there were homophobic forces within the GOP that led to the spending investigations that led to his resignation, he still in fact did a lot of dumb & stupid shit … and really from what I can tell hasn’t made amends or helped move our community forward in meaningful ways. … I want to celebrate Aaron but I find it hard. I hope he becomes vocal about the GOP’s never ending attacks on LGBTQ people.”
