Details about Karamo Brown's fallout with his Queer Eye co-stars are emerging. Days after the reality star, aged 45, unexpectedly pulled out of several cast interviews and unfollowed Antoni Porowski, Tan France, and Jonathan Van Ness on social media, a source reveals to PEOPLE that an incident filming the 10th and final season of the Netflix series led to the fracture. According to the insider, Brown's "mom was on set and overheard them talking about Karamo, and she let him know." "It wasn't meant to be gossiping or bullying, but it caused a break in his relationship with Antoni, Tan, and Jonathan," the insider says.
Reps for Brown, Porowski, France, and Van Ness have not commented on the reason behind the fallout, which was first reported by TMZ. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Brown skipped the group's morning show appearances at the last minute, in part citing "years" of mental and emotional "abuse," although he did not specify by whom. Hours later, he unfollowed Porowski, 41, France, 42, and Van Ness, 38, on social media. He still follows Jeremiah Brent, who joined the cast in season 9 in place of Bobby Berk, who has also revealed some drama within the group in the past.
When the cast arrived on stage for their interview on CBS Mornings that day, anchor Gayle King began the segment by reading a statement from Brown addressing his absence. "I hope everyone remembers the main theme I have tried to teach them over the past decade, which is to focus on and protect their mental health/peace from people or a world that seeks to destroy it; which is why I can't be there today," it read.
Brown's co-stars then reacted to his decision and statement live on air. Porowski said, "Surprised is a fair understatement." He continued, "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. But I think two things can exist at the same time. And while that is definitely true, we're also here to showcase these incredible heroes we have and really honor the legacy of this past decade of our lives and all these wonderful heroes that we've had the blessing of getting to meet and have conversations with."
For his part, Brent gushed that "my experience in this group has been transformative. To see the way that they move through the world, the way that they have taught me so much about life and friendship and love. I have felt safe and supported by the people up here."
Ahead of the cast's next stop on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Brown offered a deeper explanation for why he was not in attendance through an email his assistant sent to the NBC show. It stated that he "has felt mentally and emotionally abused for years" and was advised by his therapist "to protect himself and his peace by not attending."
Brown – who was one of the original members of the show, a spinoff of the early 2000s hit Queer Eye for the Straight Guy – also sent in a video message saying: "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. That's why I'm here at home and not there." He further encouraged fans to tune in for Queer Eye's concluding season 10, saying he "loved every minute of it," adding, "The crew worked on it and did an amazing job. I want to shout out to the crew. I want to shout out to the fans. I want to shout out to the executives at Netflix."
Brown did not thank his costars. In response to that statement, Porowski, France, and Van Ness commended Brown for "taking care of himself" and went on to highlight the legacy of Queer Eye. While he did not participate in the cast's press stops, fans were able to hear Brown's goodbyes to the show at the end of one of the final episodes.
"Ten years of Queer Eye has been my greatest joy. It has given me so much. It has made every dream come true. I have met people who are gonna be my family for the rest of my life. I'm so thankful for this experience," he said. "There are so many people out there that feel alone; they feel like no one's hearing their story. This show has given me so much hope for the impact that you can make when you continue to walk in your truth and just show up."
He added, "The world can be a better place if we all just are positive, kind, loving, and do the work to support each other. The blessing of what Queer Eye has done for me is that it has allowed me to be someone who can go around this world and make sure that people's stories are heard, and I'm so thankful for that because I have a clear purpose for the rest of my life."
Brown closed by offering the following promise: "Anybody comes in my path; you're gonna feel heard and seen."
