Karamo Brown skipped out of the “Queer Eye” publicity tour Tuesday because his mom caught his co-stars trash talking him on a hot mic, according to a report published Wednesday.
Brown, 45, missed interviews on the “Today” show and “CBS Mornings,” then shared a statement with NBC saying he “felt mentally and emotionally abused for years” and was advised by his therapist to skip the sitdowns.
While filming the 10th and final season of “Queer Eye” last summer, Brown brought his mom to the set for a day and she got to listen to the process through a production headset, TMZ reported Wednesday.
At one point, Brown stepped away from the set, and co-stars Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan van Ness began bad-mouthing him behind his back, while his mom heard the whole conversation, according to TMZ. That led to an immediate rift between the stars, sources told the outlet.
“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/peace from people or a world who seek to destroy it; which is why I can’t be there today,” Brown told “CBS Mornings” of his absence.
Fans noticed last week that Brown had unfollowed Porowski, France and van Ness on social media. He still follows Jeremiah Brent, who appeared alongside the other stars for Tuesday’s interviews.
Porowski, France and van Ness have not publicly commented on Wednesday’s report from TMZ. Porowski addressed Brown’s absence on air yesterday.
“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.”
