Tan France is denying that he gave the Queer Eye lineup a makeover. On February 27, Netflix announced that Jeremiah Brent — who is also France’s friend — would be replacing Bobby Berk as the show’s new interior designer. Rolling Stone later published a report on March 5, claiming that France (with alleged support from Antoni Porowski) had campaigned for the Berk-Brent switch, with one source describing what happened as “mean-girl antics.â€Â Three days later, France took to Instagram to respond via video. “I just want to address one point real quick,†he said on March 8. “My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired.†France denied swaying Netflix’s decision, noting that Brent was chosen as the best person for the job after a full casting process. “I didn’t get [Brent] hired by getting rid of somebody else,†he concluded. Here’s all the gossip we can spill so far, below:
Was Bobby Berk fired from Queer Eye?
France’s Instagram video was a bit dramatic vis-à -vis the “fired†allegations. The interior designer left the show on his own volition, Berk explained in a January interview with Vanity Fair. According to him, the Fab Five had all mentally prepared to leave after their contract expired in September 2022. But with content running low due to last year’s Hollywood strikes, Netflix offered the Fab Five a new deal for four more cycles. Berk declined; he’d already started planning multiple other projects. He thought his co-stars were going to follow suit, but right before the deadline, he said they all decided to sign. “And with only one of us not coming back, Netflix felt [it] could recast one person,†Berk explained. Though he admitted to being mad “for a second,†he vaguely said that “each one of us had our reasons why we did what we did.â€
How did the feud between Tan France and Bobby Berk begin?
Queer Eye fans have been constructing theories of behind-the-scenes beef ever since news broke last fall that Berk would be leaving the Fab Five (which also includes France, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, and Porowski) after the upcoming eighth season of the reality show. Naturally, the speculation continued when Berk unfollowed co-star Tan France on Instagram shortly after announcing his exit in November 2023. “Tan and I had a moment,†Berk confirmed in a January interview with Vanity Fair. “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.â€
Looking back, Berk said he shouldn’t have unfollowed France, and maybe just needed to mute his account. “But that day, I was angry, and that’s the end of it,†Berk said. “We became like siblings—and siblings are always going to fight.†He noted that he and France hugged and congratulated each other at the Emmy Awards earlier this month, which he described as “the first bandage on that wound.†In six months to a year, he said he could see himself and France “at each other’s house being good.â€
Do Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski have anything to do with Berk’s exit?
Yes and no. Multiple production sources alleged the Fab Five were decidedly not close and simply maintained a veneer of friendliness to appease the public eye, according to a Rolling Stone report published March 5. Worse, anonymous insiders claimed Van Ness, arguably the breakout star of Queer Eye, contributed to a toxic workplace, using words like “monster,†“nightmare,†and “demeaning†to describe his presence on set. Berk would allegedly quarrel with France and Van Ness over his larger workload while filming, and grew to feel that his small screen time didn’t match the amount of effort he put into rebuilding a subject’s room and furniture in four days. He “checked out†during the last season, sources alleged.
As for the Porowski of it all, France and the Chopped protégé are friends outside the series. Based on that fact, it was easy to speculate that Porowski stood behind his friend when advocating for Brent as a replacement. The fifth member of the Fab Five, Karamo Brown, can’t be factored in to the mess at this point. When Berk left, Brown loudly begged for Netflix to bring him back in an Instagram comment on Berk’s original goodbye post in November. “We are #ForeverTheFab5 no matter what,†he wrote. “I’m about to be at Netflix’s door & e-mails telling them you can’t leave! Who is coming with me?†At least someone knows silly lukewarm drama like this could be bad business.
This post has been updated.