Television personality and Queer Eye
alum Carson Kressley has expanded on remarks about the revised
version of Queer Eye.
Kressley, who currently appears as a
judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, was one of Queer Eye's
original Fab Five. The reality show ran for 5 seasons on Bravo,
ending in 2007.
Last year, Netflix released a
reimagined version of the show with a new cast. Queer Eye is
currently filming its third season in Kansas City, Missouri. The new
show features Antoni Porowski (food and wine), Tan France (fashion),
Karamo Brown (culture), Bobby Berk (design) and Jonathan Van Ness
(grooming).
(Related: Carson
Kressley says he's open to doing a Queer
Eye
cameo.)
In August, after the reboot was
nominated for an Emmy, Kressley said that “it was a little more
groundbreaking when we won an Emmy in 2004.”
(Related: Queer
Eye
wins outstanding reality show Emmy 14 years after original.)
Speaking with the Daily Mail
Australia, Kressley said that the comment wasn't “intended to
be a swipe at all.”
“The question was posed in a way that
maybe it wasn't as groundbreaking and I agreed that at the time there
just weren't as many openly gay people in television,” Kressley
said.
“In that way, maybe ours was more
progressive. But certainly theirs is trailblazing in a whole new
different way.”
“[The comment] was never intended to
be derogatory in any way.”
“I'm very proud of them and the brand
that's still very much affiliated with that and, of course, I want
them to do well. That show has always been about looking at things
from a different point of view and I think they're doing a great job
carrying the torch forward,” he said.
Kressley added that “representation
is still important and there's a lot more room for diversity in film
and television and most media I think.”
Kressley currently appears on Bravo's
home renovation series Get a Room with Carson & Thom with
fellow Queer Eye alum Thom Filicia.
(Related: Carson
Kressley, Thom Filicia spread “gay magic” in new design show.)