Karamo Brown gushed to Us Weekly about Queer Eye newcomer Jeremiah Brent.
“It’s exciting, you know, like, Jeremiah is an extremely talented and extremely driven, extremely fun man,” Karamo told Us on Friday, June 7, while at the Critics Choice Association’s inaugural celebration of LGBTQ+ cinema and television at Fairmont Century Plaza. “With Bobby deciding to leave, I think it’s just exciting to have someone else come in who’s excited and I mean, I’m excited about the season [being] one of the best.”
While Brown is excited for the next season of Queer Eye, he noted that the addition of Brent won’t shake things up too much. “I don’t think that he brings something that wasn’t there,” Brown said. “But what I think he does is he has his own sense of style. And I think it’s exciting to see someone who has a different sense of style. It’s not better or worse. It’s just different and I think the audience will love it too.”
Bobby Berk announced his exit from Queer Eye in November 2023 after six years with the series. It wasn’t until days later that a source told Us that the reason behind his departure was “because he wasn’t vibing with the cast.”
The insider added that “challenges with scheduling” and a “loss of interest” from Berk contributed to the split.
“The network and the cast thought it was time to bring in fresh blood,” the source said. “His heart was not in it and the rest of the cast started to resent him because of that.” A second source told Us, however, that Berk “was not asked to leave” and the “decision was amicable.”
Season 8 was Berk’s last season as Queer Eye’s interior design expert. Last month, Berk opened up to Us about his choice to depart Netflix’s beloved makeover series. “I had a really great experience for seven years. And you know, for me, it was just time to move on to other things,” he said in May.
“I had made peace with that at the end of New Orleans two years ago because we all thought that was the end, and I started working on other projects,” he continued.
“There’s some scripted shows that I’m in development on,” Berk added. “So a lot of fun things and then, of course, my design firm. I’d had it before Queer Eye and still have it. It’s been a lot of fun.”
As for whether or not Berk would make a cameo in the next season of Queer Eye, Brown told Us on Friday, “That’s above my paygrade.”
Brown also opened up about his current relationship with Carlos Medel, whom he has been dating since 2021. “We’ve been together three years and we’re excited and happy where we’re at,” the Queer Eye star told Us when asked if marriage was in the future. “Just being in a healthy relationship with no arguments is enough for me. Your communication is great. Like, I don’t know if I want to mess it up. You know what I mean? So we’ll see.”
With reporting by Kevin Zelman
