‘Queer Eye’ star Jai Rodriguez on how his experience on the series differed from his white co-stars 

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. 

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.

Jai Rodriguez reflecting on his time on Queer Eye to Yahoo!Entertainment as the groundbreaking Bravo series marks the 20th anniversary of its premiere.