Bobby Berk takes sly dig at his former Queer Eye co-stars after Karamo Brown drama

Queer Eye alum Bobby Berk appeared to take a swipe at his former co-stars Wednesday after one of the Fab Five — Karamo Brown — accused the other four of “bullying.”

Brown pulled out of planned media appearances at the eleventh hour on Tuesday, citing the need to “protect himself and his peace,” forcing his colleagues to address his absence live on air.

Berk, the show’s home design expert, left the Netflix show after eight seasons in 2023 amid rumors of a falling-out with fashion guru Tan France.

On Wednesday, Berk plugged his new show on Instagram, writing in the caption: “How’s everyone’s week going?! Have you seen my new show Junk or Jackpot?! on @hgtv, and @discoveryplus ?”

It did not take fans long to notice his choice of song, which he attached to the post: “My Kink Is Karma” by Chappell Roan.

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“Timing is impeccable,” one person wrote in the comments, to which Berk replied: “Timing is everything.”

“Bobby out here using the drama algorithm,” another added. “The lord doth provid,” Berk cheekily responded.

“Just out here minding your own business with your new show, huh?” wrote a third. “Exactly!” Berk replied.

Berk’s comments come after four of the Fab Five — Antoni Porowski, France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent — appeared on CBS Mornings and Today with Jenna & Sheinelle to promote Queer Eye’s tenth and final season, which was released on Netflix on Wednesday.

Mornings host Gayle King said that Brown had pulled out of the interview just an hour before filming and went on to share a statement, which read, in-part: “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.”

King added: “His assistant also says that he’s worried about being bullied.”

Asked if they were surprised by his statement, the show’s cooking expert Porowski said: “Surprised is a fair understatement. 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.”

The newest member of the crew, Brent, who replaced Berk in season nine, chimed in to defend his co-stars, saying his experience with them “has been transformative.”

“To see the way that they move through the world, the way that they have taught me so much about life and friendship and love. I have felt safe and supported by the people up here,” Brent added.

Later, on Today, Brown’s assistant sent the morning show a statement saying that he “has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years,” and was advised by his therapist “to protect himself and his peace by not attending.”

In a video message aired on the show, Brown said: “Just like the themes of this season, I’m modeling what I believe is most important, which I want to remind you all, love yourselves and protect yourselves. That’s why I’m here at home and not there.”

He went on to thank the show’s crew and Netflix, but notably did not thank his co-stars.

Van Ness took the opportunity to praise Brown for taking care of himself, saying: “It is so difficult — I think both of you can identify — when you’re on a show and you’re just relentlessly working, it is so difficult to center what you need and how to take care of yourself. And he’s been teaching people how to take care of themselves on Queer Eye for almost 10 years. And I’m actually so proud of him for centering what he needs to do and taking care of himself. It’s not easy and that’s not an easy statement to make and I’m really proud of him for doing that. Obviously, we wish that he was here, but I am really proud of him for doing what he needs to do for what’s best for himself.”

The Independent has contacted Netflix and Brown’s four co-stars for comment.

All 10 seasons of Queer Eye are out now on Netflix.