Karamo Brown is protecting his peace and used a set of highly anticipated TV appearances to prove it.
The “Queer Eye” star was set to appear alongside co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent for two appearances: one on “Today” and the other on “CBS Mornings” to preview the 10th season of their beloved TV show. However, Brown skipped both appearances, delivering statements to producers for both shows explaining his absence.
“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,” Brown said in the statement read by CBS host Gayle King. “That’s why I can’t be there today.”
The news took his co-stars aback.
“Surprised is a fair understatement,” Porowski 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.”
While missing his scheduled appearance on “Today,” Brown sent a video message congratulating hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones and addressing his absence.
“Hey Jenna and Sheinelle, congratulations on being the most amazing duo in daytime TV. I just want to say thank you to all the fans who supported us and rocked with us for ten seasons! This new season is going to be amazing, you’re going to love every minute of it. And just like the themes of the 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 am here at home and not there.”
He added, “But continue to watch the show, the crew worked on it and did an amazing job! I wanna shoutout to the crew, I wanna shoutout to all the fans. I wanna shoutout to the executives from Netflix. Thank you for having me for 10 seasons.”
In both instances, Brown did not thank his co-stars.
Brent, who replaced Bobby Berk in season 9, says his experience on the show was enlightening and praised the other gentlemen. “My experience in this group has been transformative,” he said. “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.”
Van Ness applauded Brown for making his mental health a top priority.
“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.”
