The reality TV star Karamo Brown, who provides poignant therapy sessions on Netflix’s soup-to-nuts makeover show “Queer Eye,” surprised audiences on Tuesday when he failed to join his cast mates in planned daytime TV appearances, citing mental health reasons.
On the “Today” show, on NBC, the co-host Sheinelle Jones read an explanation for Mr. Brown’s absence, reportedly sent to the network by his assistant, live on air: “Karamo has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years, and he’s been advised by his therapist to protect himself and his peace by not attending.”
The show also played a short video from a seemingly upbeat Mr. Brown.
“Just like the themes of this season, I’m modeling what I believe is most important,” he said. “I want to remind you all, love yourselves and protect yourself. That’s why I’m here at home and not there.”
On “CBS Mornings,” Gayle King said that the show had learned, less than an hour before taping the segment, that Mr. Brown would not be joining the rest of the so-called Fab Five, who were in the studio to promote the new season of “Queer Eye.”
Sitting side by side, the other cast members — Jonathan Van Ness, Jeremiah Brent, Tan France and Antoni Porowski — held hands as Ms. King read a statement from Mr. Brown, who is the show’s only Black cast member. In the statement, he urged viewers to remember to “protect their mental health/peace from people or a world who seek to destroy it.” Ms. King added: “His assistant also says that he’s worried about being bullied.”
“Surprised is a fair understatement,” said Mr. Porowski, who teaches cooking and hosting skills on the show. Comparing the “Queer Eye” cast to a family, he said that “families are complicated, and we’re definitely not excluded from that.”
“But I think two things can exist at the same time,” he continued.
Mr. Porowski, Mr. France and others offered words of support for their absent cast mate. On Wednesday, Netflix declined to comment on Mr. Brown’s public statements.
Mr. Brown’s break with his fellow cast members is not the show’s first conspicuous departure. In 2023, Bobby Berk, an interior designer who revamped living spaces on the show, dropped out of the cast. He told Vanity Fair that an expiring contract and his own eagerness to move on were the reasons for his departure after Season 8. He was replaced by Mr. Brent.
Bullying in the workplace happens often, said Christopher Donoghue, a professor of sociology at Montclair State University in New Jersey. While it is easier for adults to depart those situations compared with, say, children who are facing bullying at school, they still face scrutiny, he added.
“A person who is going to drop out of a cast or remove themselves from a situation gets a lot of attention, but probably many more people endure difficult situations like that and don’t come forward,” Professor Donoghue said. “It takes a little bravery to be able to do that.”
“Bullying is much more pervasive than people think,” he continued, “and it’s especially common in places where there’s a lot of competition among people and also in places where they’re closed out from the public eye.”
The 10th season of “Queer Eye,” which is being billed as the final season of the show, became available to stream on Wednesday. In it, the Fab Five offers its signature total-package makeovers to “heroes” in the Washington, D.C., area. At five episodes long, it is the shortest season in the series’s history.
Sandra E. Garcia is a Times reporter covering style and culture.
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