Tan France Fired Back At Allegations He Got Bobby Berk Fired

Ever since Bobby Berk announced he would be leaving Queer Eye after the hit makeover show’s eighth season, fans have had one burning question: Why? It didn’t take long for rumors to bubble up. Amid reports that Berk had clashed with a co-star and some suspicious Instagram activity, a narrative began to form that things weren’t so fab with the Fab Five. And now, Rolling Stone’s reporting some serious “mean-girl antics” on the hit Netflix show.

On March 5, the outlet published a lengthy report about the toxic atmosphere on the set of Queer Eye, citing 10 Queer Eye production members and others as sources. The sources alleged that Jonathan Van Ness as a “monster” and “nightmare” to work with, claiming JVN’s “rage issues” led to a difficult workplace environment. Plus, according to the sources, fellow Fab Five members Tan France and Antoni Porowski campaigned to replace Berk for Season 9. But France is taking issue with that claim.

Per inside sources, Berk opted to leave Queer Eye after they wrapped up filming in New Orleans. Apparently, he was under the impression that everyone was on the same page about not returning. As a result, he didn’t have any “FOMO” about leaving the show and focusing on other projects.

However, three sources told Rolling Stone that France (and reportedly Porowski) encouraged production to replace Berk with Jeremiah Brent, an interior designer and France’s friend. Then, the rest of the Fab Five re-signed their contracts to renew the show, leaving Berk out of the discussion.

But according to France, that wasn’t the case at all. He contended that hiring Brent was fully Netflix’s decision, and that he had no involvement in Berk’s departure.

“My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired,” France said in an Instagram video after the article was published. “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. Am I so happy that they have the job? Uh huh, I really am. I think they're going to be incredible on the show. But I didn't get them hired by getting rid of somebody else.”

Berk previously addressed the situation in a Jan. 25 Vanity Fair profile, though he didn’t share all the tea at the time. “There were definitely emotions,” Berk told VF. “But each one of us had our reasons why we did what we did. I can’t be mad — for a second I was.”

The interview, which was published the day after his final season of Queer Eye premiered on Netflix, touched on some personal issues that came up between the Fab Five. Social media sleuths noticed Berk and France had unfollowed one another on Instagram. Sure enough, Berk confirmed to Vanity Fair that France was the co-star he had a disagreement with.

“Tan and I had a moment,” Berk said at the time. “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.”

Per the Rolling Stone report, it sounds like this “situation” might have been related to Brent’s casting as Berk’s replacement. Still, at the time, Berk said he regretted taking the disagreement to IG. “Should I have unfollowed Tan? No,” Berk said. “Maybe I should have just muted him. But that day, I was angry, and that’s the end of it. We became like siblings—and siblings are always going to fight.”

While it sounds like things got pretty heated, Berk said that his friendship with France is on the mend now. The two recently reunited at the Creative Arts Emmys. “We both embraced each other, and we both said congratulations. And that’s where we are right now,” Berk said. “I can foresee in six months or a year, Tan and I at each other’s house being good. The Emmys was already the first bandage on that wound.”

Here’s hoping the latest report doesn’t set that progress back too much.