Karamo Drops Out Of Queer Eye Cast Interview Over Bullying Concerns

As Queer Eye prepares to launch its tenth and final season, its Fab Five stars don’t all seem to be on the same page. On Jan. 20, CBS Mornings reporter Gayle King surprised stars Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, and Jeremiah Brent by revealing that their co-star Karamo Brown had abruptly pulled out of the group interview. The sudden action (and Brown’s reasoning behind it) has resurfaced rumors of an unspoken feud among the makeover show’s stars.

At the start of the CBS Mornings interview, King read a statement from Brown explaining his absence: “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/peace from people or a world who seek to destroy it; which is why I can't be there today.”

Brown’s assistant made things a little clearer. King said that the reality personality’s assistant added: “He’s worried about being bullied.”

The remark seemed to throw off the four cast members present. “Surprised is a fair understatement,” Porowski said. “I will say our Queer Eye family, we’ve been doing this for almost a decade, which is pretty wild to believe, and families are complicated. And we’re definitely not excluded from that.”

Speculation of a major rift within the Queer Eye cast is nothing new. Things became contentious a few years back when former interior design specialist Bobby Berk parted ways with the series in 2024. Upon leaving, Berk gave an interview in which he confirmed he and France had a conflict on set. Another report came out that the Queer Eye set had become a toxic work environment, with Van Ness being singled out as a “monster” with “rage issues.”

It’s unclear exactly what has been going on behind-the-scenes on Queer Eye, but it certainly seems like the Fab Five might be silently celebrating that they’re about to part ways after the show officially ends on Jan. 21.