He wants to bring attention to the misconceptions about being HIV positive.

Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness has opened up his past struggles with drugs, being sexually abused, and his HIV status in his new memoir, Over The Top. The book will be released on 26 September and in it Van Ness talks about his battles with drug use and also shares that he is HIV positive. In an extract from his memoirs, shared with The New York Times, he explained he was 25-years-old when he was diagnosed, and the moment was ‘devastating’. The Netflix star fainted while working at a hair salon, and was test taken the day after revealed the diagnosis. Van Ness now describes himself as a ‘member of the beautiful HIV positive community’, He told the New York Times: "When Queer Eye came out, it was really difficult because I was like, 'Do I want to talk about my status? "And then I was like, 'The Trump administration has done everything they can do to have the stigmatisation of the LGBT community thrive around me'. "I do feel the need to talk about this." The reality TV star hopes that by sharing his story he can help bring attention to misperceptions about being HIV positive. Advances in medical treatment mean that people who are HIV positive can live long and healthy lives and with treatment, the virus cannot be passed on.