Queer Eye meet with US lawmakers in support of Equality Act
Queer Eye Fab Five meet with Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Nancy Pelosi Twitter)
Queer Eye stars Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France visited Capitol Hill yesterday to meet with US lawmakers in support of the Equality Act.
The Fab Five—minus Karamo Brown—posted photos of themselves with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), Nancy Pelosi and others.
Ocasio-Cortez also shared a number of photos on Twitter of her meeting with the men, including an adorable photo of herself and Jonathan Van Ness holding hands and talking.
She captioned the photo: “On Capitol Hill we wear pink.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Justice happens together’
Ocasio-Cortez continued: “TY @jvn, @bobbyberk, @tanfrance & @antoni for visiting and helping us push for the #EqualityAct, & be there to watch Congress pass the Violence Against Women Act & War Powers Resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen.
“Justice happens together,” she added.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi shared a photo of herself with Berk, France, Van Ness and Porowski—along with Ocasio-Cortez—and said: “Feel free to let us know when you want @RepAOC & me to fill in next. #Fab5”
“We have the most diverse American congress ever, I’m lifted up in seeing that a United States that values Equality & protection for all is currently fighting for that.”
– Queer Eye grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness
Berk—who is responsible for interior design in Queer Eye—seemed particularly excited about the meeting on Twitter. He posted a photo of himself, Porowski and Ocasio-Cortez and said: “I’m SCREAMING! Are you screaming?!”
Van Ness, the show’s grooming expert, was also full of praise for those he met, saying: “We have the most diverse American congress ever, I’m lifted up in seeing that a United States that values Equality & protection for all is currently fighting for that. We’re making it rain pantsuits & equality in 2020.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with Bobby Berk and Antoni Porowsk (AOC Twitter)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he was ‘proud to be part’ of the Queer Eye Fab Five
The gang also met with other politicians in their quick stop tour of Capitol Hill. Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader, shared a photo of himself with the four men and said he was “proud to be part of the #Fab5, even briefly.”
“Thanks to the cast of @QueerEye for stopping by today to urge support for the #EqualityAct. As Majority Leader, I look forward to bringing #HR5 to the Floor to ensure #LGBT Americans are fully protected under our civil rights laws.”
California politician Judy Chu also shared a photo of herself talking with the Queer Eye men, and said they had “taught us how to love ourselves.”
“Today in DC, we talked about needing to love others as well, through legislation like the Equality Act to promote LGBT rights, VAWA to protect women, and ending the war in Yemen to protect lives,” Chu said.
The Equality Act would extend civil rights to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
The visit comes days after Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk reached out to Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter and offered to help renovate her office while he was visiting Washington DC.
It is currently legal to discriminate against LGBT+ people in 30 US states due to patchy state-level protections, as efforts to pass US-wide LGBT+ civil rights laws have stalled for decades.
The Equality Act would extend existing civil rights laws to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The bill has overwhelming support in the House where the Democrats hold a majority. However, the 45-55 minority in the Senate means the bill will need to win over several Republicans if it is to stand any chance of becoming law.
