"Queer Eye" star Tan France was only 9 years old when he tried to bleach his skin because he wanted to appear as "non-Asian as possible," the fashion guru revealed.
France shared his story while discussing his childhood for a new documentary, "Tan France: Beauty and the Bleach," which aired in the U.K. on Wednesday.
"[My skin color] is something I thought of every day when I woke up," he said, according to CNN. "I thought: What trouble is my skin going to get me into today? And so, at 9, I was already making grand plans to bleach — to do what I could to be as non-Asian as possible.
"I did it behind a locked door. I put on a generous amount — it stung. Over the next half an hour ... hour, it starts to feel like you've got actual sunburn."
France did not re-use the product because of the discomfort, but when he was 16 he tried a different one because he hoped to enter the dating scene. It was racism in his English hometown of Doncaster, South Yorkshire along with colorism — a preference for lighter skin tones — that drove him to do it, France said.
"We used to have horrible names for some of our extended family members who were darker-skinned," he said, saying that skin tone was an "ever-present" topic of discussion growing up. "It's our own people saying we are not worthy unless we're light-skinned."
In the BBC documentary, France ultimately decides against returning to Doncaster, where there were "a lot of traumatic experiences," including racial abuse.
"Just because some people might consider me light-skinned does not mean that I don't have a lot of experience with colorism," he said. "I've been surrounded by colorism my entire life. I felt so determined to change my skin color when I was a kid."
Before the airing of the documentary, France said he wanted to use the platform to question the desire for lighter skin within communities.
"I know that sadly my story isn’t unique, and so many people around the world have felt a burning desire to lighten their skin," he said in 2021. "But now is the time to question that. I want to find out why colorism is still so prevalent, and why people feel the need to change their skin color when it’s already beautiful."
Related stories:
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.