Queer Eye cast forced to react live on air after Karamo Brown skips interview due to ‘bullying’ fears

Queer Eye mental health guru Karamo Brown pulled out of scheduled media appearances at the eleventh hour on Tuesday in order to “protect himself and his peace.”

Four of the Fab Five — Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent — appeared on CBS Mornings to promote their show’s tenth and final season, and were forced to address their co-star’s absence.

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.

open image in gallery

open image in gallery

“But I think two things can exist at the same time. And while that is definitely true, we’re also here to showcase these incredible heroes we have and really honor the legacy of this past decade of our lives and all these wonderful heroes that we’ve had the blessing of getting to meet and have conversations with.”

The newest member of the crew, Brent, who replaced Bobby 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.

The cast members were forced to discuss Brown’s absence again in a subsequent appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. 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.”

open image in gallery

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.

Addressing his comments again, Porowski said: “I think, definitely a little surprised, but at the same time, look, we’re so sorry that he’s not here. We fully support, I think as a collective unit, him taking care of himself and I think to echo what he’s saying, we’re here to honor the legacy of a decade, which is so wild to think about and all the heroes we’ve helped. And to just really put a spotlight on the incredible heroes we have this season in D.C.”

Meanwhile, Van Ness applauded 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.

Queer Eye is coming to an end with its tenth season, released today.

The cast previously faced scrutiny following Berk’s departure.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the home design expert admitted “there was a situation” between him and fashion expert France.

“Should I have unfollowed Tan? No,” Berk said. “Maybe I should have just muted him. But that day, I was angry, and that’s the end of it. We became like siblings – and siblings are always going to fight.”

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