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In an unexpected turn of events, Karamo Brown withdrew from his scheduled appearances with the Queer Eye cast on CBS Mornings and Today With Jenna & Sheinelle on January 20. The reason for his last-minute decision, as stated, was his concern about being “bullied.”
The rest of the Queer Eye team—Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jeremiah Brent—were taken aback during their appearance on CBS Mornings when Gayle King read out a statement from Brown. According to the statement from his assistant, Brown chose to exit the interview “less than an hour” before it was set to take place, citing his worries about potential bullying.
King conveyed Brown’s sentiments on the show, where he emphasized, “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.”
Antoni Porowski expressed his feelings on CBS Mornings, saying, “Surprised is a fair understatement.” However, he acknowledged the complexity of their relationship, noting, “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.”
Porowski further reflected on the situation, adding, “But I think two things can exist at the same time. And while that is definitely true, we’re also here to showcase the incredible heroes that we have and honor the legacy of this past decade of our lives.”
Brown made a similar statement during the cast’s appearance on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle later that same morning.
“Well, you’re all sitting here holding hands and I know people notice that someone is missing,” Sheinelle Jones said. “Four of the Fab Five are here.”
Jones noted that the show received an email from Brown’s assistant that read, “Karamo’s felt emotionally and mentally abused for years and he’s been advised by his therapist to protect himself and his peace by not attending.”
Brown also submitted a video message to the show addressing his absence. “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 said.
Porowski again noted that they were “definitely a little surprised” but they “fully support” Brown’s decision to pull out of the cast interviews.
France also gave Brown some credit as he spoke about the show’s legacy. “To be fair, the show was never about us. Yes, we were the faces of the show, but the show is about our heroes,” he said, later adding, “The work that he has done, and the rest of us, I think it has been profound.”
Van Ness said they were “really proud of him for doing what he needs to do.”
“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,” Van Ness said. “It’s not easy to do. Thats not an easy statement to make and I’m really proud of him for doing that.”
Queer Eye Season 10 premieres on Netflix Jan. 21.
