Karamo says he challenged 'DWTS' co-star Sean Spicer on Trump policies: 'You're a part of that'
Karamo — who has dropped his last name, Brown — faced backlash after calling fellow Dancing with the Stars contestant Sean Spicer a “good guy” this fall. And while the Queer Eye star says he understands “why people were upset” about his refusal to distance himself from President Trump’s former press secretary, he says he put their time together to good use.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, the openly gay father of two says he pushed past his personal political beliefs to take advantage of an opportunity to expose Spicer to other points of view.
“When it came to Sean Spicer, I knew that I could engage in conversations with somebody who I disagreed with completely politically,” Karamo shared. “I don't appreciate the fact that when [he was] in office, [he] lied to the American people and did do a lot of things to destroy the fabric of the country I love. But I knew that in this controlled environment of working with [Spicer] for almost 11 weeks, there'd be many opportunities for conversation.”
According to Karamo, he challenged Spicer on issues like trans rights and adoption rights for LGBTQ parents, which he feels are under threat by the Trump administration.
“I understood immediately that having a conversation about trans rights with Sean Spicer would be a very difficult task, especially in 2019 and 2020,” he said. “There's a lot of ignorance. So I thought to myself, how can I not make this political, but make this a human issue?
“I started by inviting my trans friends to Dancing with the Stars. They would come and hang in my trailer, which shared a wall with Sean Spicer’s. And I would invite him into my trailer, and he’d meet everyday human beings who are having a conversation with him, talking about life, talking about politics. And then when we’d walk out I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, by the way it doesn't matter, but those people are trans.’
“And I can then say, ‘When you say things about trans people, you're talking about these lovely people. I'm engaged, I'm an openly gay man. I'm raising kids, and this administration has tried to destroy adoption rights, and rights of LGBT parents. You're a part of that.’ I would consistently say, ‘Here's my fiancé, here's my kids. Let them play and talk to your kids.’ And then I would say, ‘When you're saying that LGBT people don't deserve families, you're talking about me, and you're talking about those people you just hugged.’”
He went on to acknowledge the criticism he received for befriending Spicer but says the effort has left him feeling “hopeful” that he got through to the former White House official.
“I'm not saying that that is going to solve the problem, but it starts a conversation that begins with the heart versus the mind, where someone then can start to feel versus think when they make a decision,” he told Teen Vogue. “And when I got eliminated from that show, he was sobbing. I always say to people, someone doesn't cry unless you've affected their heart. So do I know if he'll ever change? I don't know, but I'm hopeful. And don't get me wrong, I understand why people were upset. But here we are, I'm thrust into this situation that I had no control over. I either make the best of it or ignore him, and I just couldn't do that. I'm going to try to make the best of it.”
That echoes comments he made on the BUILD Series stage last month, where he described reaching out to Spicer as “not a lost cause.”
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