Karamo Brown Unfollowed All but 1 “Queer Eye” Costar Before Skipping Press Appearances to 'Protect' His Mental Health
- - Karamo Brown Unfollowed All but 1 “Queer Eye” Costar Before Skipping Press Appearances to 'Protect' His Mental Health
Liza EsquibiasJanuary 21, 2026 at 7:03 AM
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Amy Sussman/Getty Karamo Brown -
Karamo Brown has unfollowed all but one of his Queer Eye costars
This comes hours after Brown pulled out of several morning show appearances with the cast at the last minute, citing mental health reasons
His assistant also provided a statement regarding his absence on NBC's Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, claiming Brown “has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years”
Karamo Brown is distancing himself from his Queer Eye castmates.
Brown, 45, has unfollowed Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan Van Ness on social media. This comes hours after Brown skipped several press appearances with his costars promoting the 10th and final season of the Netflix show on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Brown said he felt he has undergone “years” of mental and emotional “abuse," but did not specify from whom.
He still follows Jeremiah Brent, who joined the cast in season 9 after Bobby Berk, who also has revealed some drama within the group, exited.
PEOPLE has reached out to Brown and reps for the Queer Eye cast for comment.
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Jenny Anderson/Netflix
From left: Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jeremiah Brent, and Karamo Brown
Earlier on Jan. 20, Brown — who was one of the original members of the Netflix series, which is a spinoff of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy — pulled out of his interview on CBS Mornings an hour before the talk show began. He shared a statement addressing his decision, which anchor Gayle King read aloud on the air.
“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.
When asked about their reaction to Brown’s choice not to attend, his costars revealed they did not expect it.
“Surprised is a fair understatement,” Porowski, 41, said. “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. 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, 41, also shared an emotional response, praising his fellow costars.
“My experience in this group has been transformative,” the interior designer noted. “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.”
Later that same day, Brown explained his absence on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle in a statement through his assistant sent to the NBC show, claiming he “has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years” and was advised by his therapist “to protect himself and his peace by not attending.”
He also sent a video message, saying: “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.”
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He further encouraged fans to tune in for Queer Eye’s concluding season 10, saying he “loved every minute of it.”
“The crew worked on it and did an amazing job,” Brown added. “I want to shout out to the crew. I want to shout out to the fans. I want to shout out to the executives at Netflix."
Brown did not thank his costars.
The cast once again responded to Brown’s comments live on air, with Porowski saying, “I think, definitely a little surprised, but at the same time, look, we’re so sorry that he’s not here. We fully support, I think as a collective unit, him taking care of himself and I think to echo what he’s saying, we’re here to honor the legacy of a decade, which is so wild to think about and all the heroes we’ve helped,” the author and cook continued. “And to just really put a spotlight on the incredible heroes we have this season in D.C.”
France, 42, added that the reality series “was never about us,” saying he is “so proud” of all the work everyone on the show has done, including Brown.
Van Ness, 38, also took a moment to applaud Brown for prioritizing himself: “It is so difficult — I think both of you can identify — when you’re on a show and you’re just relentlessly working, it is so difficult to center what you need and how to take care of yourself. And 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 and taking care of himself. It’s not easy and that’s not an easy statement to make and I’m really proud of him for doing that. Obviously, we wish that he was here, but I am really proud of him for doing what he needs to do for what’s best for himself.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
