Things may keep getting better for the heroes on Netflix’s Queer Eye, but things between the show’s cast and crew have seemingly hit a rough patch.
News of feuds between cast members and allegations of poor behavior began to emerge after the show’s interior designer, Bobby Berk, announced that season 8 of the reality series would be his last.
“It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one,” he wrote via Instagram in November 2023. “Although my journey with Queer Eye is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.” (The show’s eighth season premiered in January 2024.)
Following the announcement, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Berk’s departure from the series had to do with his conflict with fellow stars Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness.
“There were many challenges with scheduling [and] there was a loss of interest from Bobby filming the show,” the insider shared. “The network and the cast thought it was time to bring in fresh blood. His heart was not in it and the rest of the cast started to resent him because of that.”
Fans began to speculate that Berk’s conflict was with France after he unfollowed his costar via social media shortly after announcing his Queer Eye exit.
Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about the Queer Eye cast’s drama:
How Did Bobby Berk and Tan France’s Feud Begin?
Berk confirmed in a January 2024 interview with Vanity Fair that he and France butted heads. “Tan and I had a moment,” he explained. “There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing — and nothing romantic, just to clarify that.”
He also expressed his regret unfollowing France on social media, adding, “Maybe I should have just muted him. But that day, I was angry, and that’s the end of it. We became like siblings — and siblings are always going to fight.”
France offered more details about the root of their drama in a March 2024 Instagram video. “This all started because of a comment on a gossip blog that just got reposted and reposted that’s it’s almost become gospel,” he claimed. “So, from the horse’s mouth, I’m telling you that that’s not at all how it went down. And that’s all I’ll say on the matter. If you need to dig deeper, if you still don’t believe it, believe me, so be it. But that’s it.”
The Jeremiah Brent of It All
An exposé published by Rolling Stone in March 2024 claimed that tensions between Berk and France were heightened after France allegedly campaigned to replace the designer with his friend, Jeremiah Brent. One week prior to the article’s publishing, Netflix announced that Brent would be stepping into Berk’s role for the show’s upcoming ninth season.
France shut down speculation that he was directly behind Berk’s Queer Eye exit in a March 2024 Instagram video, during which he alleged that Berk was fired from the show.
“My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired. Netflix and the production companies did a full-on casting,” France told his followers. “I didn’t put my friend up for the job. They ended up getting it because they were the best person for the job. Am I so happy that they have the job? Uh huh, I really am. I think they’re gonna be incredible on the show. But, I didn’t get them hired by getting rid of somebody else.”
The Allegations Against Jonathan Van Ness
In the aforementioned Rolling Stone exposé, several crew members compared Berk’s relationship to his costars to that of a “boy band.” And like most boy bands, they were bound to break up.
“Essentially they were a group of people put together in their mid-thirties and told to be best friends. But people don’t expect that Queer Eye could be that,” a production member told the outlet. “That’s truly what it was: a manufactured boy band with big personalities that certain ones were favored and certain ones were not, and then eventually [things] turned really toxic.”
Part of the cast’s toxic behavior allegedly came from Van Ness as many crew members accused them of having “rage issues” and acting emotionally “abusive” toward others on set.
“Jonathan’s a person who contains multitudes and who has the capacity to be very warm, very charismatic, and has the capacity to make you feel really special that they are paying attention to you,” one production member who worked with the star claimed. “But at least once a day, they would need to yell at somebody. It might be something small, but there’s always going to be somebody to point out and blame and make the villain of the day.”
Another accused Van Ness of refusing to share the spotlight with their other Queer Eye costars, stating, “There were times when we couldn’t even shoot scenes with certain members of the Fab Five together because it got so bad.”
Van Ness has not publicly addressed the accusations against them, and Us has reached out for comment.
Have Other Fab Five Members Spoken Out About the ‘Queer Eye’ Drama?
Brown and Porowski have not publicly addressed Berk and France’s feud nor the allegations regarding Van Ness’ behavior. However, the two did show support for Berk after he announced his Queer Eye exit.
“We are #ForeverTheFab5 | no matter what. I’m about to be a Netflix’s door & e-mails telling them you can’t leave! Who is coming with me? 😢😍 I love you!” Brown commented on Berk’s ext announcement post, while Porowski added, “#foreverthefab5 indeed, and don’t forget it ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.”
Van Ness also showed some love by commenting three red heart emojis on the Instagram post.
What Could Have Been
Professional chef and cookbook author Stuart O’Keeffe claimed in March 2024 that he was originally set to be a member of the Fab Five alongside Berk, Van Ness, France and Brown before Netflix replaced him with Porowski.
“The production company wanted me on the show ‘cause I’d worked with Harbor before I’d done other shows with them,” O’Keeffe recalled on his “Don’t Let It Stu” podcast. “They were like, ‘You’ll be perfect for this [and] you have a cookbook out, it all ties in perfectly.’ I was like, ‘This is great. I’m super excited, this is awesome,’ and then … my agent called me [and] he’s like, ‘Look, I know this sounds totally kind of s—ty, but they said that you kind have done too much stuff.’”
Netflix did not immediately address the claims. Us reached out for comment.
