‘Queer Eye’ Alum Bobby Berk Addresses Belief He Purposely Shaded Co-Stars After Show’s Cancellation

Bobby Berk wants to clear the air after fans thought he was throwing shade at his former Queer Eye co-stars.

In June, it was announced that Berk would be hosting a new home-improvement series for HGTV called Junk or Jackpot?—just one day after Netflix revealed that Queer Eye would be coming to an end. Berk was one of the original cast members on the Netflix series before being ousted in season eight.

At an event last Thursday in Los Angeles, Berk clarified that the announcement was in no way intended to flame the cast and crew of his previous series.

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

He said he would have waited to make the announcement if he’d gotten a warning.

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

His new series, which is produced by John Cena, will see Berk visit homeowners with a habit for hoarding to put a value on their collection and see if they’re willing to part with it. With the money from the collections, Berk will renovate the home.

The show’s official synopsis partially reads: “With a combination of humor, compassion and a celebration of the passionate collector in all of us, Bobby will support the homeowners through the process of sorting through, appraising and letting go of their stockpile, discovering the ‘found money’ along the way to achieving their dream makeover.”