The Queer Eye cast’s press tour for the 10th and final season of their show took an unexpected turn as Karamo Brown opted not to join his costars at the last minute.
Gayle King broke the news to Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent during a live interview on CBS Mornings on Tuesday, January 20, by reading a statement that she had received from Brown “less than an hour ago.”
“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,” the statement read.
King, 71, also informed viewers that Brown’s assistant had told her that the Netflix series’ culture expert, 45, was “worried about being bullied.”
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Porowski, 41, responded first, telling King that he was speaking for “all of” the Queer Eye cast when he said he was “surprised” to hear about Brown’s sudden absence.
“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. But I think two things can exist at the same time,” the show’s food and wine expert continued. “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.”
Brent, who replaced Bobby Berk as the design expert in season 9, then became emotional as he praised Porowski, France, 42, and Van Ness, 38.
“My experience in this group has been transformative,” Brent, 41, said. “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. I’ve loved every second of this thing.”
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After King asked the cast whether any of them wanted to speak to Brown directly, Van Ness volunteered.
“I would say one thing that I’ve been so honored to learn from Karamo in my time [on Queer Eye] is that … we have to meet people where they’re at,” the grooming expert shared. “He has taught people to center what they need, and I’m actually really proud of him. Center what you need. Do the things you need to do to take care of you.”
Van Ness added, “My hat [is] off to him for doing that today.”
Brown also skipped the Queer Eye cast’s appearance on the Today show on Tuesday, with his assistant saying in a statement read by cohost Sheinelle Jones, “Karamo has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years, and he’s been advised by his therapist to protect himself and his peace by not attending.”
Brown sent in a video message to Today thanking Queer Eye‘s fans and crew as well as Netflix executives — but notably did not mention his castmates.
Porowski reiterated to Jones, 47, that he and his costars were “surprised” by Brown’s decision but “fully” supported him.
This is not the first time that the Queer Eye cast has experienced drama. Berk, 44, revealed in a January 2024 Vanity Fair interview that he and France once “had a moment” of tension behind the scenes, and a Rolling Stone exposé published that March accused Van Ness of being emotionally abusive toward crew members, which the hairstylist denied.
Queer Eye season 10 begins streaming Wednesday, January 21, on Netflix.
