Remember in the first season of Queer Eye when they pulled a “prank” on Karamo Brown by having a police officer pull him over? Of course, you do! The moment was cringey and dangerous, and Karamo believes producers set him up because they wanted to capture the “fear” of seeing a Black person confronted by cops.
According to Karamo, this marked just another example of the toxicity that defined his 10-season run on Queer Eye. The only issue? Insiders close to the show said his version of events doesn’t add up.
Karamo Brown is speaking freely about the Queer Eye cop prank
When the cop scene first aired, Karamo publicly defended the stunt. He said it created an important dialogue about police officers in America.
Fast forward to this week. Karamo did an explosive tell-all with People and had a completely different way of viewing things. He called out the production for putting him in that uncomfortable situation.
“You can see, because it made it in the episode, real fear in my face and my castmates’ face because none of us know what was going on,” he recalled. “And at that moment I realized I don’t have my license, I’m in the South, I’m a Black man, and I do not feel safe right now.”
Karamo claimed that a producer encouraged him to drive the car that day. He said they set him up to come face to face with the “aggressive” cop. It suddenly “clicked” when the cop revealed himself as part of the show.
Karamo said, “Oh, so you wanted a Black man to drive so that you can get the response of a Black man being terrified being pulled over by a cop.”
Insiders close to Queer Eye spoke to TMZ and disputed Karamo’s version of events. They claim that Karamo volunteered to drive that day, and they didn’t specifically single him out for the cop prank. They also pointed out how he was supportive of including the moment in the show.
Meanwhile, Karamo is standing by what he said. His rep released a statement, explaining why Karamo’s perception of the situation changed over the years.
“At the time of the interview, Karamo did not feel he could speak candidly and instead followed guidance on talking points so as not to jeopardize his position on the show,” his rep explained.
They continued, “He now feels comfortable sharing what occurred, and the account provided to People, as shared, was corroborated by multiple individuals familiar with the situation.”
Queer Eye is streaming on Netflix.
TELL US – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON KARAMO’S ABOUT THE QUEER EYE COP SCENE? DO YOU THINK HE WENT ALONG WITH IT TO KEEP HIS SPOT ON THE SHOW?
