Why Fashion Expert Tan France Nearly Turned Down ‘Queer Eye’ When fashion design

Why Fashion Expert Tan France Nearly Turned Down ‘Queer Eye’

When fashion designer Tan France got the call to audition for the Netflix makeover series Queer Eye, his initial reaction was to say no. France, the gay son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, didn’t want to take on the burden of representing his community — especially on television.

“The thought of being one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major show. … That pressure was so hard to handle,” he says. “The pressure of being one of the first to do something is massively stressful.”

But then France began to reflect on the racism he had experienced throughout his life. Growing up in a small town in England, bullies slapped him in the face, punched him in the gut and called him racist slurs. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he was harassed and called a “terrorist” on the street. He is still routinely questioned by the Transportation Security Administration when he travels.

As France thought about these experiences, he began to reconsider auditioning for Queer Eye: “I could have an opportunity to change the narrative for my people,” he says. “And so that’s why I decided to take the actual audition. … I’ve got to continue to show that Pakistanis are wonderful people, that we are caring people.”

France reflects on his childhood, his career in fashion and his role on Queer Eye in his new memoir, Naturally Tan.