Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness: "Stand-Up Is Where I Am the Most Myself"

Jonathan Van Ness is not operating on the same timescale as the rest of us. At least it feels that way — it's hard to fathom how he's able to tend to the many projects he's developed over the last decade. JVN, as he's affectionately known to fans, launched his podcast, Getting Curious, in 2015, about three years before he became a household name as the grooming expert on Netflix's Queer Eye. Since then, he's launched a TV adaptation of the podcast; evolved it into the lifestyle-focused Getting Better; launched another podcast, the beauty-focused Pretty Curious; written five books (a memoir, two children's books, a collection of essays, and a novel due out next month); and founded haircare brand JVN Hair — all while getting married and filming nine seasons of Queer Eye.

But Van Ness says he feels "most alive" on the comedy stage. Oh yeah, did we mention he's also performed four international stand-up comedy tours during that time?

Even if you're only familiar with Van Ness through his work on Queer Eye, the fact that he has comedy chops isn't exactly surprising. The show is infamous for eliciting tears, but Van Ness' quotable quips introduce lightness and frequently break up the tension. Comedy comes naturally to him, and in a chat with New Times, he shares that despite his litany of creative projects, he fundamentally sees himself as a comedian.

"My stand-up career charted a very unique path," says Van Ness. Early on, he got some experience doing open mic nights here and there, and hair client Margaret Cho clocked his comedic potential. But after the world fell in love with him on Queer Eye, global comedy venues came calling.

In November 2019, Van Ness brought Road to Beijing, his comedy-meets-gymnastics live show, to the Fillmore Miami Beach. Looking back, JVN says the stunts and leotards were a security blanket of sorts. "I felt like my show wasn't good enough, and I felt like I wasn't a strong enough stand-up," he says. Four tours later, he says he now realizes, "My set is strong enough, my voice is strong enough, and my style is good enough" to stand on its own.

That might sound like an affirmation ripped straight from an episode of Queer Eye, but Van Ness' reservations had less to do with self-esteem than with his comedy career's unconventional arc. He played Radio City out of the gate, but as a comic, he relishes road-testing sets within the intimate confines of comedy clubs. He's been intentional about booking those spaces for his latest tour, Hot & Healed.

"My intention with this tour was to really focus on smaller rooms and comedy clubs to develop this set and make sure it's right where I want it," he says. "I'm really excited that I get these opportunities to earn my stripes...It's just a different vibe than a theater, and it's really fun."

Not one to shy away from taboo topics, Hot & Healed delves into the fallout from the last presidential election ("How do we start embracing each other instead of policing each other to make better collective decisions?") as well as his personal healing journey.

JVN has been candid about topics ranging from his HIV-positive status to past struggles with addiction and disordered eating. His latest set is "very political," but is also about "finding my joy and helping other people find joy through healing and togetherness — even when we don't feel like being together." Still, he says fans can expect "a healthy amount of Republican shade" and free advice on hair extensions for Miami resident Ivanka Trump.

Does performing in a state like Florida, ground zero for book bans and other recent free speech controversies, give him pause?

"Stand-up is where I am the most myself, and where I feel the most alive," he says. "I love the art of it. And so wherever I get to go and do that, I want to. Whether it's, you know, a 'blue state' or 'red state.' And also, gerrymandering is real...It's hard for a state to have true representation when they've been gerrymandered within an inch of their lives."

He's familiar with the contradictions: Florida may be DeSantis and Trump Country, but it's also the place where he saw two gay men kiss in public for the first time. "I was in eighth grade. I used to go to Marco Island to visit my grandparents," he remembers. He asked his mom to detour east to Miami; they'd never been before. "I saw gays kissing, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this place is amazing.'"

For many around the world, he's a purveyor of that same visibility, of those same kinds of "firsts." It's in his books, podcasts, and TV shows, but Van Ness says his comedy sets reveal the most. "Onstage, that is who I am. That is really the most embodied version of who I am."

Jonathan Van Ness' Hot & Healed Tour. 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday, April 25, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Miami Improv, 3450 NW 83rd Ave., Ste. 224, Doral; 305-441-8200. Tickets cost $35 miamiimprov.com.