Karamo Brown talks about his friendship with Sean Spicer: 'It's not a lost cause'
Karamo Brown’s run on Dancing with the Stars has come to an end. But even after facing backlash for comments he made prior to the season about the anticipation of working with Sean Spicer, Brown says that the unsuspecting duo was able to work through some important conversations that created a bridge between them.
“Sean Spicer was in the White House and he was lying to America and a lot of people were hurt by that. And so for me to say that he was a nice guy after I met him for a small moment shocked people,” the Queer Eye host said while on the BUILD Series stage on Wednesday. “My job to build bridges and to talk to people who have different views than me and try to reach their heart and try to plant seeds that will eventually blossom into something good where they can understand my point of view and I can respect their point of view. And Sean was just that person.”
The 39-year-old television personality went onto explain that the wounds Spicer’s words created while in office were likely still fresh at the time that Brown shared a positive outlook on getting to work with him.
“It was too soon,” he explained. “He had just gotten out of the White House, we still have Trump. It still feels volatile right now. And so it felt like, I don’t even care if it’s Karamo, this seems like a lost hope. But what I realize in talking to him and getting the feedback is that it’s not a lost cause.”
As a member of the LGBTQ community, Brown said that he took advantage of his proximity to Spicer, who often spoke on behalf the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ platform, in order to introduce the former White House Press Secretary to Brown’s gay and trans family and friends.
“When you make comments about the community, these are the people, this is who you’re talking about. So as you’re smiling and talking to us and saying how great we are, remember that next time you go into the world because if you try to say something about an LGBT person not getting their rights, you’re talking about me and you’re talking about her,” Brown recalled of his conversations with Spicer. “And I could see it in his eyes. It wasn’t some deep conversation about this law and this moment. It was, when you start voting and you start talking to your colleagues, remember us.”
As Brown’s six-week journey on the competition show came to an end, he revealed that he felt optimistic about his relationship with Spicer and what the two had learned from one another.
“When I got voted off Dancing with the Stars, he was one of the people that was crying the most, and I realized it’s because I had touched his heart,” Brown said. “And so that bridge had been built in a matter of six weeks, and that’s all I could ask for. For me, I won Dancing with the Stars because of that moment right there.”
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