Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | January 21, 2026
Update: According to TMZ, the falling out resulted from Karamo Brown’s mother overhearing Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, and Tan France talk s*** about Karamo while she was visiting on set. She had headphones on, listening in, and when Karamo left, they talked smack about his fashion choices, unaware they were being overheard. Live mics strike again.
The 10th and final season of Netflix’s Queer Eye premieres today, but the long-running reality series is being marred by drama. Again.
Karamo Brown — the show’s culture expert — backed out of CBS Mornings and Today with Jenna & Sheinelle appearances yesterday that were set to include his castmates. The reason? He cited years of feeling “mentally and emotionally abused,” and said he was advised by his therapist to skip the live interviews and “protect his peace.” It created quite the on-air moment when Gayle King read his statement live on TV, leaving his castmates visibly surprised. King also read a statement from Brown’s assistant saying that he was worried about being bullied.
Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, and Jeremiah Brent expressed support for Brown’s well-being (which, honestly, feels passive-aggressive). Porowski spoke about their complicated “family” dynamic (ahem), and Van Ness praised Brown for prioritizing his needs. Hmmm.
In other words, instead of addressing the root of the drama, the rest of the cast offered insincere platitudes about his mental well-being. There’s clearly something going on, because Brown also unfollowed most of his castmates on Instagram (except for the newbie, Jeremiah Brent). It almost feels like Brown was trying to corner them into confessing, but instead of taking the bait, they’re all like, “Awww. Poor Karamo. I hope he’s OK.” It sounds like they’re taking the high road, but it also reads as bitter and snide.
Of course, this isn’t the first bit of behind-the-scenes drama. Cast member Bobby Berk left the show back in 2023 amid disagreements about contracts and creative direction, or because he wasn’t “vibing with the cast,” depending on who you believe. Commentary has also resurfaced about how Brown has hinted at past conflicts with cohost Antoni Porowski dating back to the early seasons, along with that Rolling Stone profile on Jonathan Van Ness, which described him as a “monster with rage issues” and a “nightmare” to work with.
While some of the cast have expressed misgivings about the show ending, Brown was not among them, telling the Washington Post that he “feels great about closing this chapter,” while adding, “I’m living in the best state in my life because I’m protecting my peace and protecting my mental health from environments and people that were trying to destroy it.”
The final season of Queer Eye is now streaming. I watched the first ten minutes and couldn’t pick up on any of the tension. That’s probably the last I’ll ever watch of the “heartwarming” series, because if you can’t heal your own “family,” what hope do you have of healing strangers?
