Karamo Brown is coming to Taylor Swift’s defense following criticism of her new LGBTQ-centric music video “You Need to Calm Down.”
Speaking to People, the “Queer Eye” star stood up for Swift and praised the 29-year-old pop star for her new video, which spurred complaints that, among other things, Swift was using the LGBTQ community for her own gain.
“We had these amazing conversations about her influence and her understanding the importance of helping people to see that they should open their minds,” Brown said. “That’s a woman who is using her power for good, and I’m just proud to be her friend now.”
Critics claimed that the music video compared online harassment to LGBTQ harassment and used its Katy Perry cameo to distract from its queer-centric theme, while other groups applauded Swift’s championing of the Equality Act in the video’s final shot and her fundraising for GLAAD.
More: Taylor Swift has angered many people with her ‘You Need To Calm Down’ release. Here’s why
The “You Need to Calm Down” clip featured all four of Brown’s “Queer Eye” castmates — Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk and Antoni Porowski (who revealed that he almost starred in another Swift music video, 2014’s “Blank Space.”)
“Remember the music video for ‘Blank Space’? I auditioned for that when I was a waiter and I got called back twice and it was between me and two other guys and in the audition,” he recalled. “I had to pretend like I was running away from the lion in the green screen – and I told her that.”
More: Antoni Porowski almost played Taylor Swift’s love interest in her ‘Blank Space’ video
