This is the untold truth of Tan France.
He never even auditioned, explaining toEntertainment Tonightthat the producers sought him out due to his social media presence.
“For me, it kind of just came out of nowhere.
I feel like it was a lottery.
I got super lucky.
I am very, very grateful,” France acknowledged.
France didn’t quite understand the hype surrounding the Fab Five until one particular celebrity recognized him.
France revealed the duo nearly FaceTimed her at the time, too.
In particular, theQueer Eyefashion expert admits to going to pretty extreme lengths to venture to change his appearance.
… people feel if you’re not pale enough, you’re not going to be successful."
In an excerpt fromNaturally Tan, published exclusively byStylist, France further explained his reticence.
Beyond this, I was so worried about how I was going to tackle religion.
I knew that no matter what, I was never going to be just Tan France.
The press was always going to refer to me as Tan France, the gay British Muslim.
They never introduce Antoni as the gay Polish Christian," he wrote.
I was always hyper aware of what my bank balance was and where every penny was going."
Looking back on his career, France isn’t impressed by extravagant purchases.
JVN added, “All of the rest of us are just prudent.
But Tanny Banany is the smartest boy [with money].”
As France revealed, “You find a way to connect with them that their friends don’t …
I get to ask them, ‘Tell me about your waist.
Tell me about the hair on your arms, are we wanting to cover it?'”
It helped build that relationship with them.
But he actually tried to walk away fromQueer Eyemore than once.
As he revealed toInsider, the businessman andstyleexpert was incredibly intimidated.
“I wasgoing to quitbefore I started shooting because I was too scared of the pressure.
I am myself and myself only.'”
“It was very shocking and very jarring.
That set the tone for me and made it clear why I was doing the show.
I wanted to set the record straight,” France stated.
Rather than react, the style expert accepted it as an opportunity to change someone’s perspective.
When somebody says something stupid to me, I usually alleviate it with laughter and humor.
I make light of it to educate people on why it’s inappropriate," he said.
TheQueer Eyestar explained toInsiderthat he can only be himself and focus on his own behavior.
He added, “That will hopefully encourage people to see my people in a more positive light.
… Basically what I’m saying is, not all brown people are terrorists.”
France admitted to theIrish Examinerthat the chapter on 9/11, in particular, was incredibly difficult to write.
“I was too scared to add it until the very end,” he admitted.
But, more than anything else, he wanted to be the TV star he never had growing up.
“Every now and then you’d see an Asian person [on TV].
Were they ever the love interest?
Were they ever desirable?
“I wish I’d seen a version of me on TV.
It felt like our stories weren’t needed.
Nobody wanted to hear our stories.
And it just set in my mind that we’re not seen as desirable.”
“You get the snarkiness, the vulgarity, and the really playful side of me.”
“I was willing to move in with him after two months!”
It’s not something you see very often in media.
I’d never been on TV before.
It made no sense to give this complete novice this high-profile show.”
“My husband said, ‘You’ve been moaning for years and years that you have no gayfriends.
He noted, “I never got into this as if it weremyreality show.”
I never mentioned their names, because they didn’t sign up for this.
That was my choice.”
