The Queer Eye saga continues.
On Friday, Mar. 8, fashion expert Tan France shared an Instagram video completely denying the report that he “campaigned” to hire his friend Jeremiah Brent to replace Bobby Berk on Queer Eye following his departure as the designer expert from the series. France explained in the video:
“Good morning. Yes, I’ve heard what’s going on, and I just want to address one point real quick. My former colleague [Berk] getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend [Brent] hired. Netflix and the production companies did a full-on casting. I didn’t put my friend up for the job. They ended up getting it because they were the best person for the job.”
He added, “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. This all started because of a comment on a gossip blog that just got reposted and reposted, and then it’s almost become gospel. 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. You need to dig deeper. If you still don’t believe it, so be it. That’s it.”
On Tuesday, Mar. 5, an extensive Rolling Stone report was published with very bold claims and accusations regarding how the Fab Five’s rise to fame has culminated into what now appears to be a very “toxic” dynamic between them. The publication also spoke to sources that used words such as “monster,” “nightmare,” and “demeaning” to describe Jonathan Van Ness.
While Berk’s exit from Queer Eye had already been widely discussed, this new report included new behind-the-scenes details regarding his imminent replacement as the series’ design expert.
“Unbeknownst to Berk,” Rolling Stone’s Cheyenne Roundtree writes, “at some point, castmate France — with alleged support from [Antoni] Porowski — campaigned to replace Berk with interior designer and friend Jeremiah Brent, three sources say, with one calling it ‘mean-girl antics.’”
France is forcefully denying the claims he had anything to do with Brent’s casting on Queer Eye, and his perspective does make sense. It’s hard to imagine that France would have the power to make a decision on behalf of Netflix when it comes to the casting of a new cast member in the long-standing series — particularly as one of the most successful ensemble shows on the streaming service.
We’ll have to keep up with the updates and look forward to season 9 of Queer Eye to find out how things really shake down between this new Fab Five.
Queer Eye is now streaming on Netflix.