What I didn’t anticipate was that Queer Eye would educate the world that I was a Puerto Rican Emily Post, and that to transition back to being an actor would be an uphill battle.
Jai Rodriguez reflecting on his time on Queer Eye to Yahoo!Entertainment as the groundbreaking Bravo series marks the 20th anniversary of its premiere.
I share this not out of hate or resentment, but because I believe this is queer history: When we were filming Queer Eye, we were invited by a very fancy agency to sit down and they wanted to sign all five of us. They gave this big pitch and then they separated us and put us each with an agent, and I told the one I got about my acting pedigree. I was really trying to give him a picture beyond Queer Eye.
He looked at me blankly and said, “I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re not gonna be the next Antonio Banderas.” And that stuck with me. The idea that I was at the pinnacle of success but wasn’t getting the same opportunities — the seven-figure endorsement deals the other guys were getting or whatever.
What it boiled down to after meeting with other agents and managers like him was, “Your identity being queer, Latin, slightly femme at the time was not marketable.” Or at least that was the messaging. So for me to embrace the impact of Queer Eye always, while also trying to carve out a lane for myself in an industry that didn’t see me was really tricky.
You have to remember, 2003 was the rise of gay television and specifically white gay television. In that era, I was probably the only queer person of color in the Queer as Folk, L Word, Will & Grace, Queer Eye land. And a safe choice, because to some people Latin people aren’t people of color.
So it was an interesting journey, and one that isn’t talked about so much because we get all excited about the diversity of the idea of gay people having space in media, but what we don’t reflect on is how all of our experiences were different.
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ScottOnEarth
Jai definitely suffers from delusions of grandeur. “The pinnacle of success….” “Seven-figure endorsement deals….” Seriously? I don’t think he became the next Antonio Banderas because he (Jai) isn’t a very good actor and he tends to be completely annoying. Carson was the break-out star on the original ‘Queer Eye’ because of his dynamic, charming, adorable personality. If Jai had some of those qualities, I’m sure he would have become equally – or more- popular because he is very handsome but blaming it on race is just lazy.
ShaverC
I thought the same thing. He just gets a gig and he’s telling his new manager that he wants to concentrate on other things? Sounds like he thought he was too good for the show. and about his “acting pedigree”, a quick looks shows 99% of his acting gigs happened after he started on the show.
dbmcvey
He was really good in Zanna Don’t!
That’s the only thing I saw him do on stage, but he was great.
Joule Onyx
You must be YT………
Wheelerman
@dbmcvey Yes, he was terrific as Zanna in Zanna, Don’t. I bought the cast album afterward. He can sing! I also enjoyed him on the short lived Reba McEntire sitcom Malibu Country.
DBMC
@Wheelerman
Absolutely! I don’t know why (though I could probably guess) why he’s triggering the conservative trolls on this site.
decrans
He’s not triggering me. When I was gay, I regularly slept with Latino and Hispanic men. Shrugs. A nice narrative you invented in your brain, though.
abfab
Cranzy, you ”slept” with them only because they couldn’t chew thru the restraints fast enough.
decrans
Oh, Abs. Enter your dormant fantasies with me. I only go after women now, though.
abfab
People got so bent out of shape when Queer Eye appeared. They said the sky was falling on the Gays because we were not being represented properly. The sky did not fall. Here we are. We’re still queer so get use to it. It was just a TV Show.
And it’s happening all over again (thank you Queen Lonni Gordon). Some here are unhappy again because of how things are evolving, away from their puritan sensibilities.
I got news for ya TROLLS. The sky won’t fall and you will survive. Just please stop being so annoying and try to flow. Fight things if you must. But you will lose. Celebrate. Try.
cuteguy
Unfortunately back then I believe the “slightly femme” was a bigger problem than the Latino card. However race is definitely an issue bc even tho Antonio Banderas speaks with an accent, he’s considered and marketed as European rather than Latino bc he’s from Spain. Same can be said of Javier Bardem. That’s why it was controversial when he played Cuban born Ricky Ricardo. Latinos have always been discriminated against. Early on, JLo has said casting directors wanted her to speak with a “Latino accent” even though she was born here in the USA. But in Jail’s issue, I wondered why he didn’t try out or get a part in the Ugly Betty series? It was around that time and they had primarily a Latino cast with many that were lgbtq. Unfortunately discrimination still exists and we cannot be afraid to discuss it and it’s dangerous to dismiss it.
Derek Northcutt
Mankind is made up of three races: Negroid, Mongoloid, & Caucasoid. “Latinos” are caucasoid — “white!”
abfab
Because you’re dumb, I’ll keep this simple. It’s called the Human race. Think about joining it, just stay the hell away from me.
dbmcvey
Hey Ernst Rohm, you’re still here trying to take away our rights. It figures you’d be obsessed with who is white and who isn’t. Why don’t you go tell that to all your conservative friends who are freaking out over the casting of the upcoming Snow White movie.
MidCenturyQueen
You are funny. Too bad Latinos are not treated as ‘white!” Mankind? What century are you from?
abfab
I don’t think he knows.
Kangol2
You’re a racist ignoramus! Latinos are a combination of multiple races!
Also, those racial categories you listed went out decades ago.
Get help–your multiple personalities clearly need psychological attention PRONTO!
decrans
Hate to burst your bubble, Dave Matthews. That commenter isn’t me. It’s amazing that I occupy so much space in your mind alongside Trump.
decrans
Even though I got press requests from Ben Shapiro last year, I still think he’s an idiot for going on and on about Snow White. Nuance is a wonderful thing, Dave Matthews!
DBMC
Hey Ernst,
That ship has sailed. We know that you and Derek Northcutt are the same. Do you just forget when you’ve posted before?
The most important thing to remember is that whether you are Derek or Decrans you are still an anti-LGBT kapo who will try to lead us all into the boxcars.
You’re truly without morals.
decrans
And where’s your proof on that? To paraphrase your boy Robert Garcia, “Put up or shut up, Dave Matthews.” You look like a fool.
decrans
And again, I ask: “If you think the threat of Nazism is real, why aren’t you moving to another country, Whoopi Goldberg?” I will copy-and-paste, too, Dave Matthews.
decrans
And lastly, I have morals. They just disagree with your worldview. Where are YOUR morals in the raft of autistic teenagers being disfigured through trans medicalization? I gotta say that the increasing number of lawsuits will have chilling effects on your supposed morals, Dave.
decrans
And also: If my roommate is a “Latina for Trump,” why would I use terminology like the Derk Northcutt commenter. God, you and Abs are so unflinchingly stupid. It’s quite astounding!
Joule Onyx
“I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re not gonna be the next Antonio Banderas.” The A-HOLE who said this to Jai was and most likely is still a real racist POS. 1st Antonio is a white Spaniard, Jai is a Brown Puerto Rican, just becasue Jai speacks the colonizers language doesn’t mean they are the same ethnicity/race. An why does he have to be delusions to expect the same types of deals the other four. Per the alphabet communitties guideline Jai was just supposed to be the pretty Latino who was there for visual stimulation.
Neoprene
Calm down, princess. That never happened to her. It’s manufactured 20 years after the fact to try and create some buzz around a talentless former TV personality.
SDR94103
it’s not all about race all the time. Stop the madness.
Neoprene
Play that victim card, girrrrl! Wasn’t she the “culture” gay on Queer Eye. Worthless.
DBMC
If there’s anyone whose judgement we should trust it’s a nasty conservative troll like Neoprene.
dale hankins
Jai was always my favorite from the show and then Thom. You rarely hear anything of Kyan anymore and Ted of course has the show, Chopped, on Food Network and seems to be doing the best out of the five. I would not consider Carson the break out star even though he does seem to pop up here and there, including gigs as a judge on a couple Food Network competition shows. I find him to be totally annoying now just as he was on the original Queer Eye show
RiBrad
So many actors now have their own personal victim story as to why they haven’t made it as big as they hoped. The reality is it’s a competitive business and nobody cares about you except you. There are 10 jobs and 10,000 actors – most are going to be disappointed. Part of the job is dealing with that. I am a gay male actor, for context, who could blame the homophobic industry for my mediocre success but choose not be embittered by that and rather focus on my wins and work for more in the future.