A look into the lives of ‘Queer Eye’ personalities

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Abbey Cutrer

Antoni Porowski and Bobby Berk from the Netflix show “Queer Eye” visited the University of Kentucky Singletary Center on Tuesday, March 1, for an interview with the Student Activities Board (SAB).

The president of SAB, Breona Link, said this event is meant to be a look into Porowski’s and Berk’s lives in a more personal way that viewers don’t get to see on the show.

Attendees of the event described themselves as “huge fans” and were all there for similar but unique reasons.

Freshman Kamryn Tucker came to the event for two main reasons. “I am a huge fan of the show, crazy fan, and I’ve gotten into it with my aunt who actually had a hard time coming out to our family and I did as well,” Tucker said. “That really brought us together, then we found out about the show.”

The second reason behind Tucker’s attendance is her major. “I love all five of them, but Bobby most importantly because I’m going into interior design, so it will be really interesting to hear his point of view,” she said.

After moderator Samantha Valentino introduced the two “Queer Eye” members, the audience cheered for a full minute before settling down to let Porowski and Berk begin.

The conversation began with background and then flowed through humorous stories of behind-the-scenes moments during the filming of the show.

Porowski talked about his memories regarding the original “Queer Eye” show.

“I remember my sisters would watch it and at that point, I remember the only representation of anything queer whatsoever on TV was ‘Will and Grace’ and ‘Queer Eye,’” he said. “With ‘Queer Eye,’ it was like ‘Oh my gosh, five gay men being themselves.’”

“My heart is actually beating thinking about it, because I remember how nervous I was. It felt like I was watching something weirdly illegal. It’s kind of like how I went to see Brokeback Mountain alone in the theatre and balled my eyes out,” he said. “I wouldn’t admit to myself that I liked it because I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know what I liked.”

Similarly, Berk said he loves the original ‘Queer Eye,’ and he still remembers where he was when he watched the first episode of the series.

“For me, it was the first time I saw real live gay people on TV,” Berk said. “It had to do with growing up religious. The church would tell me ‘You’re never going to be anything, you’re never going to accomplish anything, gays are never going to be accepted, you’re never going to find love, family, or success in your career,’ but the men in Queer Eye showed me I could.”

After deep background, the two gave humorous insights about Tan France, another ‘Queer Eye’ member. Porowski said France’s guilty food pleasure is straight squirt cheese, which is very unlike him because he typically eats everything with a knife and fork.

To close, Valentino asked for advice from the two, specifically for people struggling with their identity.

“You always come to this pressure to label yourself this or that, just be you,” Berk answered. “Don’t feel the pressure to define yourself; you’re the only one that can be you and you’re the best version of yourself, and don’t compare your journey with someone else’s.”

Porowski closed by saying, “Live and let live! Just don’t be a d*ck!”