Jonathan Van Ness has addressed the attention surrounding his 70-pound weight loss.
The Queer Eye star, 38, responded to critics accusing him of not being a “body positive person anymore” after using a GLP-1 medication in a TikTok posted Thursday.
“I have always felt confident and beautiful in my body, no matter what size I was,” Van Ness said, showing before and after pictures of his weight loss.
The hairstylist said that in 2023, he had a “medical issue” that prompted him to get a colonoscopy. He decided that if the colonoscopy didn’t give him any answers, he would then go on a GLP-1.
GLP-1, short for glucagon-like peptide-1, drugs were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, but are now widely used for weight loss by increasing the hormone that regulates blood sugar, appetite, and digestion.
Since losing weight and attending Pilates classes at Solidcore, Van Ness said that his body has “never looked like this” and that he now has abs, which he’s always wanted, “so I’m taking my shirt off a lot.”
“But I just wanted to get one thing straight: I was always really cute,” he said. “And I always felt cute. But I just didn’t feel good. And now I feel good.”
To critics questioning if he’s still body positive, Van Ness fired back, “What do you mean? I’m all about body neutrality.”
“The way that you look does not define your worth, doesn’t define your lovableness. You are worth love and worth celebration, no matter what your body looks like,” the Fab Five member added.
He concluded, “I feel like a f***ing minx right now. When I’m 80, I want to see pictures of me when I was in my 30s looking cute. So, that’s why the top’s off, because I feel really cute.”
Van Ness first started using a GLP-1 for weight loss in September 2024. In a January TikTok, he said the medication was helping him treat his eating disorder.
“This time in my life, I knew that I needed a little bit of extra help,” he said. “With everything I’ve been through publicly and privately in the last couple years, I gained quite a bit of weight, wasn’t feeling good.”
