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23rd Sep 2019
Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness is gearing up to release his memoir, Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love. Ahead of the book’s debut, Van Ness opened up about some of the memoir’s most personal moments, revealing that he is a survivor of sexual assault, has struggled with addiction, and is currently living with HIV.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Van Ness explained that the issues he tackles in Over the Top are important—but not necessarily easy to discuss. “It’s hard for me to be as open as I want to be when there are certain things I haven’t shared publicly,” he said.
From there, the Queer Eye star opened up about being abused as a child, telling the Times: “For a lot of people who are survivors of sexual assault at a young age, we have a lot of compounded trauma.” Van Ness went on to explain that, as a teen, he would meet up with older men after corresponding with them in chat rooms, and soon found himself dealing with addiction involving sex and drugs.
His memoir, slated for release on September 24, details a visit to Planned Parenthood over concerns of flu-like symptoms, the result of which was an HIV diagnosis at age 25. “That day was just as devastating as you would think it would be,” his book reads, per the Times.
Van Ness has continued to be an important public figure when it comes to visibility; in a June 2019 interview with Out Magazine, he opened up about experiencing bullying as a kid and teenager, often hearing hateful slurs from his classmates. Now, as a celebrity, he knows the influential power that he has for others going through similar struggles. “I just want to show people that you can change your circumstances, you can just make your own lane,” he told Out.
The 32-year-old echoed that sentiment in his interview with the Times; Van Ness explained that he wants to help debunk common misconceptions about people living with HIV, referring to himself as an “out-and-proud member of the beautiful HIV-positive community.”
Despite having reservations about being so vulnerable with the general public, Van Ness eventually concluded: “The Trump administration has done everything they can do to have the stigmatisation of the LGBT community thrive around me. I do feel the need to talk about this.”
To read Van Ness’s full interview with the New York Times, click here. Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love will be available to purchase in the US starting Tuesday, September 24 (it will be available to purchase in Australia from October 1).
This story originally appeared on TeenVogue.com.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Counselling hotline on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
If you or someone you love is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. Young people aged 5 to 25 years can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
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