Some new context has emerged on the rift within the cast of “Queer Eye,” which may help explain why Karamo Brown has decided to distance himself from his co-stars.
TMZ reported that while the show was filming its final season last summer in Washington, D.C., Brown found out his castmates, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, and Jonathan Van Ness, were speaking badly about him and criticizing his lifestyle choices when he was gone. According to the entertainment news outlet, Brown’s mother was visiting the set that day, and she heard the conversation through production headphones, later telling her son what happened.
This week, the Queer Eye” cast went on “Today” with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones and “CBS Mornings” with Gayle King to chat about the upcoming season. But Brown skipped the interviews, instead sending in his own statement that said he had been “emotionally and mentally abused for years,” and the purpose of his absence was to protect his mental health.
“I hope everyone remembers the main theme I have tried to teach them over the past decade, which is to focus on and to protect their mental health and peace,” Brown said in the statement. “That’s why I can’t be there today.”
He thanked the fans, Netflix, and the show’s crew for making ten seasons of the show possible, and encouraged viewers to watch the latest season. Notably, he did not thank his co-stars.
The original cast of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” which is a revival of the early aughts series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” comprised culture expert Brown, foodie Porowski, fashion designer France, hairstylist Van Ness, and a fifth member, interior designer Bobby Berk. Berk left in 2024, after the show’s eighth season, igniting rumors about issues within the cast.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Berk said he left at a time when he believed everyone was moving on from the show. The group had initially signed a seven-cycle contract through September 2022, and according to Berk, were making plans to branch off individually when Netflix offered to renew the show again. Berk said he decided not to sign a new contract with Netflix, thinking his other castmembers would do the same, and afterwards found out they were moving on without him. The show hired a new interior designer named Jeremiah Brent as his replacement.
Berk also cited issues with France, but told Vanity Fair that he believed the two would recover.
After Berk announced his departure, Rolling Stone published a deep dive into more of the show’s behind-the-scenes drama. A production member told the publication that toxicity within the cast was akin to a boy band falling apart. The article pinned Van Ness as one of the main sources of tension, reportedly due to their “rage issues” and “emotionally abusive” behavior.
