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Bobby Berk is addressing controversy that arose after he announced his new show with HGTV just a day after Netflix revealed Queer Eye will end with season 10.

A former member of the streamer’s rebooted series, Berk served as the Fab Five’s design expert through season one to eight, before he departed from the show ahead of its ninth installment. He will now star in the new series Junk or Jackpot? via HGTV, though the announcement notably came on July 10, a day after Netflix announced Queer Eye is set to conclude after its forthcoming 10th season.

“I have to say, I swear on my mother’s life, my show announcement date was set,” he told People when asked about the timing. “No, this was planned. Show announcements don’t happen on a whim.”

One of his former Queer Eye co-star’s even reached out in the wake of the reveal. “Even Karamo [Brown] was like, ‘Girl, the day after?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no. I promise you it was already planned,’” Berk added.

“I mean, [Netflix] could have easily given me a heads-up on when that was going to be announced,” the interior designer said. “I mean, I was on the show for [eight] seasons, but yeah, it’s fine.”

Following his season eight exit, Jeremiah Brent joined Queer Eye as the Fab Five’s design expert. When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Brent admitted that he didn’t feel pressure to step into Berk nor OG Queer Eye personality Thom Filicia’s shoes, and rather “felt a responsibility to my castmates,” of Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France.

“They have been on the forefront of some of the most important social issues for the last seven years, and they have worked tirelessly to create something really special,” he said of the reeboot. Still, Brent admitted that taking part in the reality series was quite a journey for himself — both personally and professionally.

“The experience unlocked parts of me that were super dormant, to be honest,” he said. “I reclaimed parts of myself that I had put away. … [Queer Eye] tethered me back to what matters about design.”

Interior designer Bobby Berk was one of the original five hosts of Netflix’s reality show “Queer Eye” — aka the Fab Five — but left after the Season 8 in 2023 and is now set to host his own HGTV show. There was some awkward timing earlier this summer with Berk’s HGTV announcement and the news that “Queer Eye” would be ending after the upcoming Season 10.

Netflix announced on July 9 that “Queer Eye” will end after the 10th and final season, and the next day on July 10 HGTV revealed Berk would be hosting a new show, titled “Junk or Jackpot?” Berk addressed the backlash over his announcement with People and revealed that his former “Queer Eye” co-host Karamo Brown called him out over it.

“I have to say, I swear on my mother’s life, my show announcement date was set. No, this was planned. Show announcements don’t happen on a whim,” Berk said. “Even Karamo was like, ‘Girl, the day after?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no. I promise you it was already planned.”

Berk said that he had no idea that Netflix would drop the “Queer Eye” news less than 24 hours before his own announcement.

“Some people were like, ‘Couldn’t you have waited?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, yes, but no,” he said. “I mean, [Netflix] could have easily given me a heads-up on when that was going to be announced. I mean, I was on the show for [eight] seasons, but yeah, it’s fine.”

For the first eight seasons of “Queer Eye,” Berk co-hosted with Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness. In the wake of Berk’s exit, he was replaced by HGTV interior design expert Jeremiah Brent, who will complete two seasons on the show before it ends.

Filming for the 10th and final season of “Queer Eye” has already begun in Washington, D.C., and Season 1 of Berk’s “Junk or Jackpot?” will premiere later this year.

Berk

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