One of the stars of “Queer Eye” didn’t attend a recent TODAY interview, which occurred just one day before the beginning of the 10th and final season of the iconic series.
Karamo Brown was notably absent when Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness and Jeremiah Brent stopped by TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle to discuss the upcoming Washington, D.C.-set season on Jan. 20.
“We received an email from Karamo’s assistant this morning, which said, in part, ‘Karamo has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years, and he has been advised by his therapist to protect himself and his peace by not attending,’” Sheinelle Jones said during the interview.
Brown did send a video, though, congratulating Jenna and Sheinelle on the launch of their show before turning his attention to “Queer Eye.”
“I just want to say thank you to all the fans who supported us and rocked with us for 10 seasons,” he said.
“This new season is going to be amazing. You’re going to love every minute of it. And 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,” he added. “That’s why I’m here, at home, and not there.
“But continue to watch the show. The crew worked on it and did an amazing job. I want to shout out to the crew. I want to shout out to all the fans. I want to shout out to the executives from Netflix. Thank you for having me for 10 seasons,” he concluded.
Brown’s absence on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle seemed to shake his co-stars.
“I think (we’re) definitely a little surprised, but at the same time, like, look, we’re so sorry that he’s not here,” Porowski said.
“We fully support, I think, as a collective unit, him taking care of himself. And 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 that we helped and to just really put a spotlight on the incredible heroes we have this season in D.C.”
France also wanted to shift the attention to where he thinks it really belongs.
“To be fair, the show was never about us,” he said. “Yes, we were the faces of the show, but the show is about our heroes and we got to bring people together in what I think is the most beautiful way.
“And I think the legacy of the show is such positivity and beauty and just trying to make this world a better place. And I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, so proud. Including Karamo, what we’ve all done together … What he has done, and the rest of us, I think has been profound,” France added.
Netflix did not respond to TODAY’s request for comment amid Brown’s absence from the interview.
The 10th and final season of “Queer Eye” drops Jan. 21 on Netflix.
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