Is there anything more invigorating and inspiring than binging a new season of Queer Eye? The beloved series, of course, sees Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, Tan France and Bobby Berk (who are lovingly known as the “Fab Five”) crashing people’s lives in the best way to set them up for a better futures. And with the seventh season that's now new on Netflix, the series continues to be a space for inclusivity within the reality TV realm. As a result, the show's hosts have highlighted people who live with disabilities, and that includes Wesley Hamilton, who is aiming to bring authentic representation to the screen.
Wesley Hamilton joined Queer Eye on two occasions and, afterwards, CinemaBlend spoke to the “Disabled But Not Really” activist and entrepreneur about his own hopes for disability representation in media. At the same time, he also teased his plans for the future:
I'm kind of working with a couple different teams myself to start to create some scripted shows, movies and concepts that I think would be pretty authentic and very truth-telling. I think that we have seen things start to grow, but what I would love to just always see is individuals that have these real-life lived experiences being the ones on screen, because no matter how much you can script something, once it's authentic, everyone can see themselves and they can relate more, and those experiences actually create a better experience when you think of inclusion behind TV and media.
Series: Queer Eye
Season: 7
Episode No: 3, "Speedy For Life"
Synopsis: "After a traumatic accident, a young man wants to inspire others but hides his own sadness. Can the Fab Five - and a returning hero - help him open up?"
Where To Stream: Netflix subscription
Episode 3 of the new season, titled “Speedy For Life” followed Ray “Speedy” Walker, a young man living in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the former captain of his high school basketball team and had dreams of going pro until a tragic event changed his life forever. Due to a car accident he was in two years prior to the Queer Eye episode, Speedy's mother and aunt were killed, and he was left paralyzed from the chest down. It’s a powerful episode, not only thanks to the Fab Five, but because it united the Season 7 hero with Season 4’s Wesley Hamilton, who had his own tragic story and saw his life positively altered by the hosts. And as you can gather from the comments above, Hamilton is just getting started.
When it comes to Hollywood, people with disabilities are not commonly chosen to play characters who are wheelchair users. Yet as the advocate alluded to, the industry is improving in this area already, and he’d like to be part of expanding that space. One example of positive change is that the upcoming Wicked movie sought a real wheelchair user for a key role.
This isn't a new conversation either, as big names have spoken out in the past about what needs to be improved. A notable disability advocate was late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, whose son recently spoke out after a paralyzed man was able to walk again. And another person who's been vocal is Selma Blair, as she's been incredibly candid following her MS diagnosis. As for the Queer Eye guest star, he said:
I’m definitely from my own personal end trying to do some work to push more content out. But, I also would love to just see more individuals like myself being pushed out so that we're more of a visual representation than seeing someone that is an actor, because in reality you can't act as a person with a disability because those are lived experiences that they can only relate to.
Wesley Hamilton and Speedy’s stories being told on such a popular show like Queer Eye certainly contributes to the progress that's being made. Both of their accounts allow viewers around the world to understand their experiences and can help people connect and empathize with those who also live with disabilities. During the chat, Hamilton also spoke to how his connection with the Fab Five could play into his aspirations, saying this:
I spend a lot of my time between Kansas City and LA now, so, you know, there's definitely been times where I've been able to meet up with a couple of the [Fab Five] and start to brainstorm. I think my goal would be to do something with Karamo in the future. We haven't really talked about it, but we have something where we can go around and heal men from two different perspectives. I think that that's something that I do hope that we can do in the near future.
Wouldn’t that be incredible? Wesley Hamilton has certainly been busy and, with his fundraising efforts and consultation services, he's definitely helping his community in a major way. Let's hope that he's able to help increase the level of representation for those with disabilities.
