Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness is helping fight the stigma surrounding HIV as he becomes the first non-female Cosmopolitan U.K. cover star in decades.
The grooming expert makes his debut as the magazine’s cover star some 35 years after Boy George was the last male to land the coveted spot in 1984.
Sharing a snap of the publication on his Instagram page, the star proudly penned: “My body is ready.”
Dressed in a coral ruffled dress with white socks and Nike sneakers, Jonathan, who is HIV positive, speaks candidly in the interview about breaking the stigma behind the illness.
“This is only the beginning,” he says. “I’m quickly realizing that there is still so much misunderstanding, so much sensationalizing of living with HIV. The stigma and the difficulty around the process of getting treatment is creating that. My work has only really just begun.”
It’s been a monumental year for the Netflix star’s personal life, after he came out as gender non-binary in an interview with Out Magazine back in June – although he told the publication he prefers to use male pronouns.
