Sean Spicer. He’s that guy who repeatedly lied to the public on behalf of his old mate Donald Trump, left the big white building and is now salsa dancing his ruffles onto American TV screens on Dancing With The Stars.
Yeah, people are hellbent on making fallen politicians cute.
Spicer has made a fair amount of enemies along the road, but he has one unlikely ally: Karamo Brown from Queer Eye’s Fab Five.
Brown, who also appears on Dancing With The Stars, told Access in August that “people would look at [Spicer and I] and think that we’re polar opposites.”
“But I’m a believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle, you can learn about each other and help each other both grow.” Brown even called Spicer a “good guy, really sweet guy.”
It’s not the first time Brown has defended the former White House Press Secretary. Just this week, the Queer Eye star told PEOPLE, “my goal coming into this was to introduce myself to people who have never seen Queer Eye, to let them know who I am…and also, my goal has always been to show how if you can show kindness and lead with love, things can change.”
“Day one I got backlash [for supporting Sean Spicer]” he said. “I started this show with people telling me, ‘You’re horrible, you’re crazy, you’re stupid.’ Because I showed someone who has a different political view than mine kindness.”
It’s a romantic idea, to think that putting opposites together could encourage positive change, but unfortunately, it won’t erase the damage Sean Spicer has already done.
Let’s not forget that Spicer made a false claim just one day after Trump’s inauguration and two days before his first official press conference. Spicer claimed the ceremony had drawn “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period – both in person and around the globe,” which was later found to be complete BS.
This is, of course, where Kellyanne Conway’s infamous “alternative facts” phrase came from.
Just three months later, in a statement referencing the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, Spicer said: “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” Not only were his comments criticised for denying the realities of the Holocaust, but he made them during Passover – only adding insult to injury.
Perhaps it’s Sean Spicer’s, and more specifically, the Trump Administration’s stance on LGBTQ issues that makes Karamo Brown’s defence that much more hard to believe. Despite Trump’s promise at the 2016 Republican National Convention that he would “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens,” Spicer has been part of an administration that according to American Civil Liberties Union rep Ian Thompson is “easily the most anti-LGBT administration in at least a generation.”
“They are hard at work trying to dismantle and erase every gain LGBT people have made since 2009,” Thompson told The Hill in 2017.
In the first year of his presidency, the Trump administration tried to reinstate a ban on transgender people in the military, nominated multiple people to courts who have anti-LGBTQ records, directed federal lawyers to take the anti-LGBTQ side in court cases and even refused to recognise Pride Month, according to Vox.
Karamo Brown’s intentions are good, but it’s important to acknowledge the reality of the situation – that Sean Spicer hasn’t had the LGBTQ community’s best interests at heart. It’s harsh, but it’s the truth.