Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk addresses ‘falling out’ with Tan France amid feud rumours

Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk has broken his silence on the rumoured feud with his cast mate Tan France.

Berk, the show’s interior design expert, announced last November that he was leaving Queer Eye after its latest season.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Berk said he hoped he could “extinguish some of the speculation” about his exit, adding: “I want people to know that Tan and I – we will be fine.”

He continued: “Tan and I had a moment. 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.”

Rumours of a feud were sparked when Berk unfollowed France on Instagram last year.

“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.”

As for the reason behind his departure from the hit series, Berk said that he and the other members of the Fab Five – France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness and Karamo Brown – had originally signed a seven-season contract.

When that was up, Berk made other plans. However, when Netflix were left with a lack of new content following last year’s Hollywood strikes, they revived the series.

“All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren’t coming back, I just wasn’t willing to change those,” said Berk. “I would have had to pump the brakes on multiple other projects that are already in process. We had mentally just prepared ourselves to move on – that’s why I left.”

The eighth season of Queer Eye arrived on Netflix on Wednesday 24 January.

The series follows the five LGBT+ professionals as they transform the lives of struggling individuals using their respective skill sets.

Initially broadcast as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in 2003, the original series aired on Bravo until 2007 before being relaunched by Netflix with a new cast in 2018.

Berk first shared the news of his departure on X/Twitter on 13 November 2023.

“To the Queer Eye Community who have become family to me. The love that I have received from you all over the last six years has been absolutely surreal,” he wrote.

“... It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season 8 will be my final season on Queer Eye. It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one. Although my journey with Queer Eye is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.”

He added: “To all our wonderful, loving, amazing, and brave heroes there is so much I want to say, and so much gratitude I want to express to you all for letting me into your homes and hearts.

“It’s all because of you that I’ve kept going all these years and each and every one of you have changed me for the better. I’m so very proud of all of you! Being able to help guide you to find the best version of yourselves is something I never took for granted and never will.”