Queer Eye’s first trans participant defends the Fab Five following criticism of episode

Skyler Jay, who appeared in the fifth episode of Queer Eye Season 2, has opened up about meeting the Fab Five and watching his episode.

The episode, titled “Sky’s the Limit,” premiered on Netflix in June and was both acclaimed and criticised for its treatment of the show’s first transgender participant’s makeover.

In the episode, the Fab Five mentor Skyler, who just underwent top surgery as part of his transition. The episode opened the conversation around issues experienced by trans people in their daily lives, like obtaining an ID that shows their true gender rather than the gender they were born with.

Some trans viewers felt the episode was reductive of the trans experience, focused too much on Skyler’s  surgery and catered to cis people.

In an interview with Them, Skyler opened up about the episode and defended the Fab Five.

He said: “The questions I keep getting asked are, ‘Are these guys really that nice? Are they really that awesome?’ My response is always, ‘No. They’re even better than what you get to see on TV.’

“We spent a week and then some filming, they crush it into less than an hour, and there’s so much that’s left out.”

Skyler’s Queer Eye episode begins with a recording of his mastectomy. (Netflix)

In the episode, style expert Tan France tells Skyler he’s the first transgender person he’s ever met. This comment drew criticism from viewers. Looking back on the episode, Skyler said he regretted that the edit of the episode cut out his answer.

“I always come back with, ‘That you know of.’ And then I always explain that I may be the first openly trans person they’ve met, but we’re everywhere,” he explained.

• Nov 29

56 celebrities you didn’t know are gay, bisexual or lesbian