Bobby Berk is clearing the air on more rumored Queer Eye drama.
In July, People revealed that Bobby would host his HGTV series, Junk or Jackpot? The announcement came only one day after Netflix revealed that Queer Eye, the reality TV makeover series Bobby starred in for eight seasons, was ending after 10 seasons.
The interior designer starred alongside Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan van Ness. Back in November 2023, it was announced that Season 8 would be Bobby’s last season on the show.
In a now-unavailable Twitter post at the time, Bobby wrote, “To the Queer Eye Community who have become family to me. The love that I have received from you all over the last 6 years has been absolutely surreal. You have tuned in and been dedicated fans and together we were able to share the healing powers of design.”
Following rumors about why Bobby left the show, Bobby spoke to Vanity Fair, clearing up that he was signed on for seven seasons and that he treated the wrap of Season 8 in 2022 as the end of the show. “When the show was renewed for a Season 9, he said, “Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things.” The rest of the cast signed on for the ninth season.
Bobby did admit that “there was a situation” with Tan, that was unrelated to the show, which led to him unfollowing him on social media, but they have since worked on moving past it. In the end, Bobby praised his time on Queer Eye and his friendships with the cast.
But then Bobby faced criticism for the timing of his new show announcement, which he responded to during the At Home With Narwal event in Los Angeles. “I have to say, I swear on my mother’s life, my show announcement date was set,” Bobby said to People. “No, this was planned. Show announcements don’t happen on a whim.”
Bobby’s new series will follow him in helping homeowners decide to sell their collectibles to raise funds to improve their homes. “We go out and we find people who are collectors,” Bobby said. “But these collections have really taken over their lives, and sometimes in a very negative way. So I go in, I help them get it under control.”
Bobby said that the coincidental timing of Junk or Jackpot’s announcement even received criticism from his former co-star, Karamo. “Even he was like, ‘Girl, the day after?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no. I promise you it was already planned.'”
He continued, “Some people were like, ‘Couldn’t you have waited?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, yes, but no.'”
According to Bobby, Netflix could have let him know about Queer Eye ending. “I mean, [Netflix] could have easily given me a heads-up on when that was going to be announced,” he told the publication. “I mean, I was on the show for [eight] seasons, but yeah, it’s fine.”
Junk to Jackpot? is set to premiere later this year, and despite how much the internet wants there to be some more shady drama, it’s apparently just a coincidence.