Entertainment Weekly’s 2018 Entertainers of the Year is finally more diverse than years past

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 07: (L-R) Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, Tan France, and Antoni Porowski attend Netflix’s Queer Eye premiere screening and after party on February 7, 2018 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for Netflix)

The Fab 5

Entertainment Weekly’s 2018 Entertainers of the Year isn’t the only yearly entertainers list that has honored the Fab 5 this year. Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, and Tan France were also featured in OUT magazine’s Entertainers of the Year.

On the surface, Queer Eye might be a revitalized show about self-care through fashion. However, Queer Eye is also a show that commemorates self-confidence and honors the LGBTQ+ community concurrently.

Aside from advancing gay representation on screen, the Fab 5 continuously help their guests redefine their self-confidence or create confidence that they didn’t know existed previously. Having a series that shows loads of positivity with members of the LGBTQ+ community naturally creates a positive image about the community as a whole for the viewers watching. This obviously helps defray the overwhelmingly negative portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community in cinema.

The Fab 5 obviously aren’t characters, but the film industry has an unhealthy affinity for giving its LGBTQ+ characters a painful story arch. Showcasing an innately positive show that features members of the community who help people can force other Hollywood productions to create similarly positive LGBTQ+ characters. (After all, we don’t need to have a sob story or need to be in the process of coming out to be included in a movie or show.)

The show also delves into social issues in real scenarios. After a police officer pulls offer the Fab 5 team while Karamo Brown in an early episode of the series, the team has a necessary discussion about racism and discrimination. This specific scene was actually staged by the guest on the show, and the cast, primarily Brown, have to educate the guest about why this stunt was so problematic given the continued police brutality and racial biased black people endure in the US.

The show discusses hyper-relevant topics and helps people, which is why we’re glad these five made it on the list.

Do you have a favorite entertainer that made it onto the 2018 Entertainers of the Year? Or do you know an influential entertainer who you think should’ve made the list? Let us know in the comments section!