Fab Five breaking pact left interior designer Bobby Berk turning his back on 'Queer Eye'
In November 2023, Bobby Berk startled 'Queer Eye' viewers by declaring that Season 8 would be his final season, but the other members of the Fab Five—Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Karamo Brown, and Antoni Porowski—would return for a ninth season. Two months later, the interior designer addressed allegations that he was at odds with Tan and explained why he was quitting the Netflix series.
The ensemble signed a seven-cycle deal with Netflix, which terminated when they finished filming Seasons 7 and 8 in New Orleans in September 2022, Bobby told Vanity Fair. Regarding what he believed to be their final day of filming, he remarked, "The Fab Five and the crew, we all stood there, and we took pictures and cried."
Bobby Berk moving on with his own project, turning back on 'Queer Eye'
'Queer Eye' was renewed by Netflix, which also gave the actors new four-cycle contracts during the writers' and actors' strikes. Bobby claimed the others thought about following his example, but he chose to refuse to accept it and continue to follow his objectives.
But in the end, the other four had second thoughts.
"And with only one of us not coming back, Netflix felt [it] could recast one person," he stated. At first, Bobby was offended by their choice.
But that wasn't enough to make him change his mind. "All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren’t coming back, I just wasn’t willing to change those," he stated.
These goals include growing his home design business and writing his new book, 'Right at Home: How Good Design Is Good for the Mind'.
Bobby Berk's public feud with Tan France turned things sour for Fab Five
Bobby acknowledged that he had disagreements with his co-star, but claimed they had nothing to do with his alleged animosity with Tan. Fans observed in the autumn of 2023 that he had stopped tagging Tan in Fab Five group images and unfollowed him on Instagram, which he blames on an unidentified "moment" between the two.
Bobby regrets that his choice resulted in the public discussion of their altercation. But he said that when the Fab Five won an award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmys on January 7, they embraced and praised one another. Bobby is hopeful that their friendship will soon be restored.
'Queer Eye' Season 9 returning despite allegations of toxic work culture
Too much has ruined the series' atmosphere to sustain it, even if some of the episodes have lasted the test of time and are still enjoyable to watch. Despite the Fab Five's convincing portrayal of being close friends off-screen, it appears that this couldn't be further from reality.
Naturally, Bobby, the show's design specialist, is departing, and the reasons behind his leave have exposed the largest split. As 'Queer Eye' was set to return for a ninth season, Bobby declared he would not be joining, saying it was his personal choice.
By the time Rolling Stone released their bombshell exposé on the poisonous dynamics that impact the Fab Five and 'Queer Eye' working culture, there were already rumors of a breach between Bobby and Tan. According to a source, Tan and co-star Antoni utilized "mean girl antics" to fire Bobby and replace him with their buddy Jeremiah Brent, who did take Bobby's position in the most recent season.
The report discusses the split between Tan and Bobby. In addition to the drama involving Bobby and Tan, the exposé exposes Jonathan's purported anger management problems.
"They're really centered around having this warmth, love, and care for other people," according to their sources. "There’s a real contrast between that and the way that they treat the people who are closest to them across the board. It’s the opposite of what this person is touted and paid to be."
Jonathan refuted the accusations against them on an episode of the 'Table Manners' podcast, claiming that they were "overwhelmingly untrue and done in bad faith."
All 10 episodes of 'Queer Eye' Season 9 will premiere on December 11 on Netflix
