Last year William Sledd, a 23-year-old gay GAP employee from Paducah, Kentucky, started filming video blogs that offered his strong, witty, and usually spot-on fashion observations. He called the segments Ask A Gay Man and posted them on YouTube. Shot in his bedroom, his vlogs soon ranked as some of the most watched clips on the site and his eighth installment — a hilarious exploration of denim wear — has currently been viewed more than three million times.
Numbers such as those caught the attention of Bravo's OutZoneTV.com and last month Sledd shot his first episode of Ask A Gay Man for the network's online division. We recently talked with him about his sudden rise to fame, his controversial status within the gay community, and his three famous moms.
AfterElton: Congratulations on your new gig with Bravo!
William Sledd: Thank you! It's so exciting.
AE: How did that come about?
WS: They love me! [laughs] Actually, it was a collaboration. I have a development deal with NBC Universal and we pitched to Bravo, and when we pitched, they were like, "Oh, my gosh! We love him."
AE: Are you a big fan of Bravo's shows? Are you hooked on Project Runway?
WS: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. There's like no better place in the world I'd ever want to be. It doesn't get much better than Bravo. It's like a perfect fit for the two of us. I'm really psyched about it.
AE: You became famous and found your audience on YouTube, making you one of the first bona fide YouTube celebrities. What is it about you and your videos that accounts for your success?
WS: I'm fabulous? Duh! [laughs] Honestly, I don't know. I feel like it's hard to pinpoint. I used to think it was because I got featured a lot [on YouTube], but then I realized all kinds of people get featured and they don't get the same amount of numbers. I can't say exactly why.
AE: You've been mentioned on The View, written about in the LA Times, The Baltimore Times, and Instinct. How are you feeling about the sudden celebrity?
WS: It's changed my life in so many ways. I'm living a fairy tale. It's more than I could have ever even imagined. It's really cool, just the things that like a year ago, sitting in my bedroom if you'd told me I would do even half the things I've done in the last six months, it would blow my mind.
AE: I saw that you were contacted out of the blue by Christine Ebersole [Tony award winning actress from Broadway's Grey Gardens]. What was that like?
WS: We're like best friends now! She called me yesterday and I spent the whole weekend with her in New York. She's absolutely amazing. I love the woman to death. I have like three moms. I have these people who are like my mothers and they guide me throughout my career. Christine Ebersole is my Broadway mother, Suze Schwartz is my current print mother, she's the fashion editor for Glamour, and then Stacy London is my television mother. I'm good friends with all three of them and love them all.
AE: I love that you call your vlog Ask A Gay Man. Any thoughts on gay actors, singers, or other celebrities who aren't nearly as forthright about being gay?
WS: You know, I guess it's like everyone's own thing about being comfortable. I have a really strong confidence level. What people think about me doesn't really bother me at all. I guess that's why I'm so easy going with putting it out there. As far as being stereotyped sometimes, that's the only thing I dislike about the fame. Yes, I'm gay, but that's not the only thing. It's a part of me, and a part of me that I care about, but it's not all of me. Besides that, it's just me.
AE: When did you come out? How was it growing up and being gay and fabulous in Paducah, KY ?
WS: [laughs] It really wasn't that bad! It could have been a lot worse. I came out in my senior year of high school to all my friends. I mean, they kind of knew, although some of them didn't know. It wasn't bad, though. I have a very close group of friends. I don't have any bad experiences with coming out.
AE: Obviously you have a huge number of fans. Unfortunately, as you mentioned earlier, there seem to a number of folks, many of them gay men, who attack you online for acting like a "stereotypical gay man" and so forth. Where do you think that comes from? What do you say to them?
WS: Jealousy. Listen, the only people that hate me are the gays. I don't know what it is. Maybe they're jealous or they're opinionated or whatever, but it doesn't bother me at all. I joke about it. I'm like, the only people who hate me are the gays and the extreme religious people.
AE: Are you still working at The Gap?
WS: I am! Not today though. I'm taking time out of my busy life holding [a] position at the Cingular [store] to get my iPhone today. I've been out here since 9 AM.
AE: Just what are your fashion credentials?
WS: I love to help women. That's my passion, dressing a woman. There's just something about it that's so powerful. They can have so much fun with clothes and accessories, and you can do so much more. You can really make a woman look beautiful.
AE: You recently told a reporter that a 4 1/2 minute YouTube clip took you four hours to edit and shoot. How do you find the time?
WS: I don't sleep at all. I never sleep. I can't even begin to tell you the last time I slept eight hours [at once].
Would you like to eventually move into directing?
WS: No, not at all. It's just something that I have to do.
AE: Your first video for Bravo was about making a wedding cake — loved the pink-on-pink-on-pink motif. Does that mean you're branching out or will your primary focus still be fashion?
WS: No, it's primarily fashion. I still like to have fun and be funny. I did the cupcakes and it got such a good response that I felt there should be a second edition of the baking. The wedding cake seemed like the best thing to make. It was a lot of fun.
AE: I watched your “Closet Edition” of Ask A Gay Man. I loved how everything was arranged by color, style, and sleeve length. OCD much?
WS: Yeah, extremely. I'm an OCD perfectionist. That's why it takes four hours to edit a video! [laughs]
AE: What current trend do you love and which one can't you wait to see die a quick death?
WS: In women, I'm ready for leggings to be done. I can't stand it. I'm ready for it to die. On the other hand, I'm absolutely loving the head scarf right now. It's like my favorite thing. There are so many designers who are exploring great artists. I don't know if you're familiar with Little Edie [from Grey Gardens], but she had no hair and she wore a scarf on her head the entire time. So many designers are actually using her as a fashion icon. It's absolutely amazing. For men, I'm pro man bag all the time. Men don't have trends like women do, but I'm always pro man bag.
AE: Who's the best dressed celebrity?
WS: Stacy London [from What Not To Wear]. Absolutely hands down. She always looks amazing. And Sarah Jessica Parker.
AE: Which celebrity would you most like to make over?
WS: Rosie O'Donnell.
AE: Which celebrity would you most like to make out with?
WS: Jake Gyllenhaal for sure. [laughs] That's an easy one.
AE: We're currently doing our first ever Hot 100 List which is chosen just by gay men. Who makes your list?
WS: I'll give you five. Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Duhamel, Bob Barker, absolutely. I'd make out with Bob Barker just to say I made out with Bob Barker. Um, I can come up with two more. Just give me a second. See, I can't think of anyone. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, but I'm just done with them.
AE: Are you single or taken? Has becoming a YouTube star improved your dating life?
WS: Actually, I'm taken, but [fame] has definitely hurt my relationship. I've been in a relationship for a very long time, but I don't know how much longer it's going to last.
AE: I'm sorry to hear that.
WS: Yeah, but it's for the best.
AE: So what's next for you career wise? Do you have any specific goals?
WS: I take everything one day at a time. Honestly, I do. I try not to think too much into the future because you never know what's going to happen. I just try to take one day at a time and ride things out. I don't really have any goals set or anything. I just let it happen.
AE: Thanks so much for talking to us, William.
