Karamo & Antoni are both speaking out about the Queer Eye fallout & it’s intense
Back in January, Karamo abruptly walked away from the Queer Eye cast citing fears of bullying.
Mark
Five months after Karamo Brown abruptly walked away from the Fab Five on the eve of the 10th and final season of Queer Eye, he’s finally breaking his silence as to what lead up to his bold move.
in January, Karamo bailed at the last-minute on a CBS interview with cast members Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent citing a need to prioritize and protect his mental health. His assistant then shared a statement saying he “worried about being bullied.”
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The stunning revelation left the world and Karamo’s Queer Eye cast, who were seated for televised interviews when they got the news, in complete shock.
Karamo Brown, one of the “Fab Five” of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” did not participate in this morning’s interview with the cast, writing to CBS Mornings that he hopes people remember to “protect their mental health/peace.”
Brown’s assistant told CBS Mornings that the expert was… pic.twitter.com/oDDtlo8Y7v— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 20, 2026
Now, he is revealing what lead him to bust up the Fab Five, which, according to the 45-year-old, included years of behind-the-scenes toxic behavior.
To get an idea of who Karamo has cut contact with all you have to see is that he no longer follows Tan, Antoni or JVN on Instagram. He still follows both Jeremiah and original design guru Bobby Berk.
In a new interview, Karamo said he drew his boundaries after years of bullying and toxicity from several cast members and production executives.
“Everyone would just say, ‘Well, that’s just that person,’ instead of saying, ‘This behavior does not fly in a professional environment,’” Karamo told People. “It impacted me negatively, consistently.”
The last straw was after his mom was on set and she heard several of Karamo’s castmates talking smack about him.
“The thing I know is the tears I saw in my mother’s eyes,” he told the outlet. “[She kept repeating], ‘I thought they were your friends.’ It made me realize I can no longer stay silent about how often I was made to feel like an outsider.”
While Karamo did NOT name names, People vetted multiple sources who said Tan, Antoni and JVN were the ones allegedly heard talking negatively about him.
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The fourth season of Karamo’s eponymous talk show premieres on Monday.
In the interview, Karamo also disclosed how the group dynamic was originally shattered just weeks into filming season one in 2017 after a sexual harassment complaint was filed against him.
Again, without naming names, Karamo admitted he and one of his OG castmates had a “fun and flirty” relationship early on during casting. While the complaint was investigated, it was later dropped. However, the damage was done.
“It broke us,” Karamo said of the Fab Five. “We all knew the divide between us.”
Despite the tense feelings, the group continued filming together through the years, in part because of the genuine good they were bringing through the show.
“When I saw the transformations that were happening because of the five of us, I was like, ‘Baby, okay, I can put up with this,'” he said of dealing with the behind-the-scenes drama.
In their reporting, People found multiple sources who claimed Karamo’s on-set relationships were most tense with Tan and JVN. Back in 2024, JVN was accused of emotionally abuse behavior, which they have denied.
“Jonathan was someone whose frustrations were often expressed openly,” a source told People. “Others were more likely to create tension behind the scenes.”
Yet, despite their past beef, Karamo went on to compliment JVN, who he hasn’t spoken to since the fallout.
“The work I have seen Jonathan pouring into himself is commendable and inspiring,” he said. “Growth isn’t always public-facing, but I respect him for how he’s currently moving through life.” He didn’t mention anytihng about Tan. 
While most of Karamo’s Queer Eye cast has remained silent on the drama (neither Tan nor JVN have yet to release any statement following Karamo’s interview), Antoni is speaking out with his take on the volatile situation.
In an interview that was published prior to Karamo’s People sit-down, Antoni expressed confusion of how everything took place.
“If I’m honest, I think I’m left with more questions than answers, but what I hope is that the people who honor the show understand the help that we did and the commitment we [had],” the food guru told Variety.
“I refuse to let however it ended be a distraction from the messaging because the messaging, I swear to you, was always real and always coming from a truthful place. That’s what I choose to take with me from it.”
The 42-year-old also stressed that the Fab Five were strangers before being cast by Netflix, reminding everyone they weren’t a close-knit group to begin with.
“The only person I’d ever heard of was [Jonathan Van Ness] with ‘Gay of Thrones,’ because I used to watch it,” he continued. “We didn’t know who we were, and we’re very different people, different ways of navigating the world as is the case. We were put into this thing together, and we all dealt with things in very different ways. Yeah. I think I’ll leave it at that.”
Antoni does not follow Karamo or Bobby Berk on Instagram.
Despite burning the house down on his way out, Karamo is now taking a more measured approach and does not rule out making amends with his former castmates.
“I think we all deserve a bit of grace for how we handled ourselves and one another,” he added. “We were just doing our best. It may not have felt like that in the moment, but it’s very clear to me now.”
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