Queer Eye season 10, the show’s final season, premieres tomorrow on Netflix amid rumors of tension between Karamo Brown and the rest of the cast.Karamo skipped multiple live interviews, citing fears of being “bullied” and the need to protect his mental health.Here’s how his Queer Eye costars reacted to his absences.
The tenth and final season of Queer Eye drops on Netflix tomorrow, and while fans aren’t quite ready to say goodbye, it seems like Karamo Brown might be. Ahead of the season 10 release, the resident culture expert skipped out on multiple live interviews with the rest of the Fab Five, and now the question begs: Is Karamo Brown feuding with the Queer Eye cast? Let’s dive in.
The drama kicked off on January 20, when Karamo abruptly pulled out of a CBS Mornings interview “less than an hour” before it began. Host Gayle King shared the news on air by reading a statement from Karamo, explaining that he didn’t show up alongside Jonathan van Ness, Tan France, Jeremiah Brent, and Antoni Porowski for fear of “being bullied.”
Per Karamo’s statement: “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.”
Gayle also added that, according to Karamo’s assistant, “he’s worried about being bullied.”
Karamo’s absence became a topic of conversation again on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, where—in a statement to the NBC morning show—Karamo explained his decision to skip by 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.”
He then followed up his statement with a video message, in which he told fans, “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.”
So…what do his costars think of all this? When asked for a reaction following Karamo’s CBS Mornings absence, culinary expert Antoni 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.”
Later, after Karamo’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle no-show, fashion guru Tan praised Karamo’s work on the show, calling it “profound,” while beauty expert Jonathan Van Ness chimed in to say, “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.”
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JVN added, “It’s not easy to do, that’s not an easy statement to make, and I’m really proud of him for doing that.”
So! It doesn’t seem as though there’s any bad blood between Karamo and his castmates…though of course, this wouldn’t be the first time the Fab Five has feuded. (Pls see: The infamous Bobby Berk feud.)