Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk addresses reports of ‘feud’ with Tan France: ‘We will be fine’

Queer Eye‘s design guy, Bobby Berk, has addressed the speculation that he and his co-presenter, Tan France, have fallen out.

Last November Berk announced that he was leaving the popular Netflix show he has fronted with France, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, and Jonathan Van Ness (JVN) since it premiered in 2018. The series’ eighth season, released on Wednesday (24 January), will be his last. A ninth season has been confirmed to take place in Las Vegas.

After announcing his departure fans speculated Berk had fallen out with his castmates. This theory was fuelled when Berk failed to tag Tan France on Instagram while promoting Queer Eye season eight. Watchful fans also noticed both had unfollowed one another.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Berk addressed the speculation confirming he and France had “a moment.” Berk said: “I want people to know that Tan and I—we will be fine.” Explaining that he and the cast had signed on for seven seasons initially, after wrapping season eight he said everyone “thought we were done.”

He said he’d started planning other things assuming the others had done the same. In the years since the show debuted each of the cast members have branched out on their own; Porowski has released cooking books, France joined Netflix’s Next in Fashion, Brown released a memoir and JVN has also released books and worked on their podcast.

However, it appears conversations happened and Porowski, Brown, JVN, and France decided to continue with Queer Eye. Berk said Netflix decided they could recast him as the only member not returning.

“I will always have a very special place in my heart for him” – Bobby Berk

Berk denied the idea that he had left because he was perceived as having a harder job on the show than some of his castmates. He told Vanity Fair: “You will have never found me quoted as saying that I have the most important job and I do the most work. All five of us are of equal importance.”

Addressing his clash with France, Berk said their “moment,” has “nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing – and nothing romantic, just to clarify. Should I have unfollowed Tan? No. 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.” France declined to comment when approached by Vanity Fair.

The two were seen embracing at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month indicating the relationship isn’t entirely over. “I will always have a very special place in my heart for him,” Berk said extending that to France’s family. “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.”

Queer Eye is streaming now.