Queer Eye Star Karamo Brown Unfollows Some Cast Members Amid Interview Dropout Drama

Season 10 of Queer Eye just dropped on Netflix, but we’re all more preoccupied with this Karamo Brown drama. In case you missed it, the Fab Five’s “culture” expert suddenly dropped out of several press appearances with his castmates. He also just unfollowed most of them on Instagram, reigniting those old rumors that the Fab Five might not be so fabulous behind closed doors.

via: Daily Mail

A reboot of the 2003 Bravo series, the Netflix ratings hit follows five advisors as they spend a week applying their expertise to help improve a 'hero's' life.

Yet behind the scenes the 'Fab Five' have been plagued with reports of toxic infighting, leading many to question whether they actually believe in the life-affirming advice they dish out on the show.

This week, tensions came to a head when Karamo Brown - the gang's culture and lifestyle expert - refused to join his co-stars for interviews on Tuesday, claiming he'd been a victim of 'emotional abuse'.

Brown, 45, allegedly did not tell his co-stars he would not be appearing, with Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jeremiah Brent and Jonathan Van Ness looking shocked and clutching one another's hands as CBS Mornings host Gayle King read out Brown's statement.

While the quartet didn't go into detail, food and wine expert Porowski, 41, merely said their dynamic was 'complicated', rumours of a cast feud swirled when it emerged Brown had unfollowed all of his co-stars except for Brent, 41.

It's the latest blow to befall the cast of the makeover show, which is now airing its tenth and final season after being cancelled.

In 2024 it was announced that interior design expert Bobby Berk was leaving the show and being replaced by Brent.

Berk, 44, then revealed that there was an off-camera 'situation' between himself and fashion expert France, 42, sparking wild theories about the reason behind his exit.

After fans noticed that Berk had unfollowed France on social media, he confessed: 'There was a situation, and that's between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show.

'It was something personal that had been brewing - and nothing romantic, just to clarify that.

'Should I have unfollowed Tan? No. 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.'

However, an explosive Rolling Stone article then reported that France and Porowski 'conspired' to get Berk kicked off the show and replaced by the British star's friend, Brent. France has strongly denied the allegations.

They alleged Berk was 'blindsided' by the way his departure played out noting that he had also been butting heads with France and Van Ness on set.

While Berk claimed to have chosen to leave the show, France suggested this wasn't the case as he responded to claims he was involved in the decision.

Addressing the report on Instagram, France said: 'My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired...

'Am I so happy that they have the job? Uh huh. I really am - I think they're gonna be incredible on the show. But I didn't get them hired by getting rid of somebody else.'

The reports of cast infighting coincided with claims that Van Ness, the grooming expert, had created an uncomfortable atmosphere on set because he was a 'monster' to work with.

Multiple production sources told Rolling Stone that Van Ness, who is non-binary and uses he/him, she/her, and they/them pronouns, told how they made the show 'increasing difficult to produce' and accused Van Ness of being 'emotionally abusive', with 'rage issues'.

Van Ness, 38, responded to the claims on podcast Table Manners With Jessie And Lennie Ware, where they claimed that the accusations were not 'based in reality.'

They said: 'I think a lot of people were like looking for a reason to hate me or like looking for a reason to be like, "See, I always knew that they were a fake c*** and this is the proof."

Van Ness added the cast first learned of the expose three months before it was published and claimed that a lot of the information that had been gathered was 'taken out of context' in order to make them look 'as bad as possible.'

They branded the article as 'completely untrue' and alleged that it was done 'in bad faith', but did admit there were times when they 'snapped' at people and 'could have done better'.

The bombshell report claimed 'there's a real emotion of fear around them [Van Ness] when they get angry. It's almost like a cartoon where it oozes out of them'.

'It's intense and scary,' they added, further claiming that Van Ness was a 'yeller' who would 'explode once a week'.

One source said that Van Ness has a 'very warm, very charismatic' side to their personality which is what the public sees, but there's another side that comes out behind the scenes.

'At least once a day, they would need to yell at somebody. It might be something small, but there's always going to be somebody to point out and blame and make the villain of the day,' they alleged.

Rolling Stone also claims that the Queer Eye cast were engaged in 'petty disputes and competition' with each other over screen time and who was the 'top star' on the show.

While each cast member has gone on to find success on their own terms, Van Ness was arguably the breakout star of the series.

Not only do they have the most social media followers of the group, they have published three books - including a New York Times bestseller - and launched the hit podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.

The podcast was turned into its own standalone Netflix series in 2022 and they also have a successful haircare line called JVN, which is stocked in Sephora.

Despite the damning allegations made about the cast, production sources insisted that Fab Five’s intentions and interactions with the heroes [the contestants] are genuine.

'The experience that the Fab Five gives to the heroes… all that’s very real,' one source insisted.

'A lot of people - who believe in that message and care about it - work very hard and lose sleep to make a quality show that people care about.'

Indeed the next series of the show aired as planned and was nominated for three Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

However last July, Netflix promptly announced that the show had been cancelled and that the upcoming tenth season would be its last.

Sharing a snap of the Fab Five on Instagram, the Queer Eye Instagram account snap was captioned: '10 seasons. fab five. one last go ‘round. the final season of QUEER EYE is officially in production!'

The Queer Eye cast were quick to react to the post, with France commenting: 'What a joy it’s been to be able to make this beautiful show all these years.'

Van Ness added: 'What a wild ride. Excited to bring it back one more time.'

Porowski shared the post on his Instagram story and wrote: 'Let’s make our last one count,” and included a heart-hand and clapping emoji.

Brent simply shared the Netflix announcement to his Instagram story, while former cast member Berk commented: 'What a ride ❤️'

Brown is not believed to have acknowledged the post.

He has since unfollowed Porowski, France and Van Ness on Instagram. Brown still follows Brent and Berk.

On Tuesday, Brown refused to join his co-stars as they promoted their final season.

Addressing his absence, CBS Mornings host Gayle King announced: 'We call it a "Fab Five" but one of the Fab Five is not here.

'We received word just - less than an hour ago that Karamo Brown is not going to be joining us today.'

King went on to read a portion of Brown's statement, saying that the reality star 'apologised for not attending' and thanked the show's audience

'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 and peace from people or a world who seek to destroy it; which is why I can’t be there today,' Brown wrote in the portion read by King.

'His assistant also says he's worried about being bullied,' King added.

'I'm very sorry to hear this - that he apparently feels this way. What do you have to say?' she asked Brown's costars, who are promoting the show's final season.

King quickly clarified that the cast were 'as surprised as we are' by the cancellation.

Porowski, with his hand on France's lap, replied: 'Yeah - surprised is a fair understatement.'

Not offering much detail, Porowski added: '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.'

'And while that is definitely true, we're also here to showcase these incredible heroes that we have and really honor the legacy of this past decade of our lives,' he added, as France sat silent with a slight smirk.

Brent, audibly emotional, chimed in to insist that his 'experience with this group has been transformative.'

He maintained the show is about 'highlighting the best of humanity', adding: 'And nobody needs that more than us - this country right now.'

King - after disclaiming that she 'did not want to negate how Karamo feels' - went on to ask if the cast had anything to say directly to their costar.

Van Ness began: 'I think one thing that I was so honored to learn from Kamaro during my time - just like he said in that package - we have to meet people where they're at. And 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 - I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like that sometimes. So, I think it's really beautiful. I think we do need to center what's best for us sometimes, and my hat off to him for doing that.

The situation caused a similar stir when the group joined Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, where Brown added new accusations to his statement while sending in a video as well.

Brown said he 'has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years', but did not say by whom.

He made the decision to not appear on the program 'to protect himself and his peace', Jones read.

Brown added in the video: '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. But continue to watch the show,' he said, before thanking the crew and Netflix executives, but notably, not his co-stars.

Brown first found fame on The Real World: Philadelphia in 2004, making history as the first openly gay black man on TV.

He previously spoke of his shock of learning he was the father of a 10-year-old son he had no idea existed until he was subpoenaed for back child support totaling $230,000.

Back when he was 15 years old, Karamo had a single sexual encounter with his school pal Stephanie Brooks, and the upshot was the arrival of son Jason.

In his memoir Karamo: My Story Of Embracing Purpose, Healing, And Hope, he revealed how he first learnt of his child.

Under the influence of drugs at the time, Brown revealed he was still 'in a sort of stupor' when he saw that 'On the front page was: Texas Attorney General's Office.'

Brown penned: 'The second page read: 'Subpoena for Back Child Support.' I thought, Ashton Kutcher is inside my house. I'm getting punked!

'I literally spit out the juice I was drinking. Now I was fully freaking out.'

It turned out that the child support subpoena was the state's doing, and resulted from Brook's welfare application, not from her suing Brown.

Brown traveled to Texas to meet Jason after getting a paternity test, and confessed: 'I was scared. I realised that I created this child who I had no idea about that's living there, that I now messed him up.'

And yet, he recalled: 'There's something about the first moment of seeing your child. All the pieces of me that I felt were missing got sewn up the minute I saw his face. I looked at this little fourth-grade boy, and I thought, "I can do this."'

Brown got custody of Jason in 2007, and three years after that, he adopted Christian, Brooks' son by another man.

In the memoir out next month, Brown remembered: 'One morning I had been in bed and seven-year-old Christian walked in and said: "Hey, Dad, can I go outside and skate?" It felt natural. I said simply: "Yes, Son."

'I called Stephanie and said: "How about I become Christian's legal guardian, just to get him back on the right path?"

'Christian came back and I said: "Your mother and I talked. Would you like to live here permanently?" He said yes and jumped into my arms.'

Brown raised his sons with TV exec Ian Jordan who he got engaged to in 2018 after eight years together.

However in 2020 the couple announced their separation after a re-evaluation of their busy relationship.

Brown said of their separation: 'We were distracted by so much with the kids, and our careers that during that time, I had to really say, "How is our communication? How is other parts of our lives? Are we growing in the same place?"

'You know, we're not 20 anymore, so it wasn't just, "Oh, I'm not going to text you anymore" — it was like, we have a family and a home. How do we separate this? And it was hard. We went to virtual counseling, we did a lot of things.

'But eventually I was like, this is a moment where I need to decide, is my happiness important? And once I made that decision, I said, you know, we are going to have to break up.'