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Jonathan Van Ness's Emotional Response to Beverly Hills Hotel Boycott

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The Queer Eye star became emotional at the GLAAD Media Awards as he considered the hotel's hairstylists and other staff members who would be affected.

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Jonathan Van Ness got emotional discussing the boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

"It's such a shame that [a boycott] is what it needs to come to. But I think that must be what it has to be," Van Ness told The Advocate Thursday at the GLAAD Media Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Van Ness was responding to news that the Beverly Hills Hotel's owner, the sultan of Brunei, is preparing to legalize the stoning of gay people and adulterers in his country.

Although Van Ness endorsed the boycott, the reality star, who is the hair expert on Queer Eye, expressed sympathy for the hotel's workers who might suffer due to such a protest.

"There's a salon in that hotel. And there's hairdressers, and there's assistants and stuff. But God, Brunei, why do you have to be so messed up? F... I almost cussed. But get it together!"

Bobby Berk, Van Ness's Queer Eye costar, also endorsed a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel. "Yes, I think a boycott is in order," said Berk. "It stopped it back in 2014. Everybody went up in arms. They started boycotting the hotels that they own and they stopped it. So maybe if we hit 'em where it hurts, which is their pocketbook, maybe they'll reconsider again."

Watch their responses below.

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Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor of social media for The Advocate. A native of New Jersey, he writes about entertainment, health, and politics.