Karamo Brown is Queer Eye’s culture expert. His job is largely psychological, as he takes the target out and tries to delve deep into their personalities, problems, and obstacles. Yes, he does fun things with them like rock climbing and wine tasting, but, at the end of the day, he is there to break through barriers and get to the painful heart of a particular problem.
Due to the nature of his job, we don’t often learn much about Karamo himself. Well, we’re here to change that. These are ten things you didn’t know about Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown.
He Was The First Openly Gay Black Man On Reality TV
While working for the Brotherhood Crusade, Karamo was cast on The Real World: Philadelphia. And, fun fact, his casting made him the first openly gay black man in reality television history. His season aired from September 2004 to March 2005, when Karamo was just 23 years old. Beginning that same March, Karamo appeared on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II but was eliminated in episode six of fifteen. Oh well, he got the last laugh in the end! Look at him now, people!
He Previously Worked As A Social Worker
Following The Real World, Karamo disappeared from the public eye. His stint on The Real World ended in March 2005, and it was then that he began work as a social worker. It was this work that undoubtedly helped him get cast as the culture expert in Queer Eye. He proceeded to work as a social worker for the preceding decade before he was cast on another show…
He Was A Correspondent For Dr. Drew
Beginning in 2014 (nine years after his stint on The Real World), Karamo began appearing as a correspondent and panelist for Dr. Drew on Call. The program was hosted (obviously) by Dr. Drew and ran Mondays through Thursdays on HLN. According to Wikipedia, Karamo appeared in 54 episodes of the show between 2014 and 2016. This helped launch a brief career in reality TV, and he proceeded to host Access Hollywood Live and Are You the One: Second Chances.
He Worked As A Producer For HuffPost Live
During his role on Dr. Drew on Call, Karamo worked as a producer for HuffPost Live. For those who don’t know, HuffPost Live was an internet streaming network run by The Huffington Post. You probably could have worked that out for yourself, but hey, there ya have it. However, Karamo’s work didn’t end at production. He also hosted eight episodes of the show throughout 2015! Turns out, Karamo had quite the little career in showbiz before being cast in Queer Eye!
He Is An Important Activist
Don’t let all this reality TV nonsense distract you from the fact that Karamo is an important activist. He is the co-founder of 6in10.org, which helps provide HIV education and mental health support to the African American LGBT community. He also serves as a health and wellness ambassador for the National Black Justice Coalition and the CDC. He also volunteers his precious time at the Los Angeles LGBT Center where he works as a youth counselor. All this work led Karamo to winning the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award in 2018.
He Learned He Was The Father Of A 10-Year-Old Boy
Karamo’s life was totally flipped upside down in 2007. It was then that he was randomly notified that he was the father of a 10-year-old boy named Jason. Owing to the fact that Karamo is a super good dude, he embraced his newfound fatherhood and received custody of Jason that very same year. Furthermore, Karamo decided to adopt Jason’s half brother Chris in 2010, and the three currently live together as a family in Los Angeles. Now that is one uplifting story.
He Didn’t Have A Relationship With His Father
Unfortunately, Karamo’s relationship with his father ended after he came out. Karamo recounts that he had a great relationship with his father as a child and teenager, but this relationship was significantly strained when Karamo came out at 17. Following the news, Karamo’s father distanced himself from his son, and the two didn’t speak for over a decade. Luckily, Karamo’s father eventually reached out and apologized for his behavior, and the two are currently in the process of reconciling their relationship.
He Hates Being Called A Culture Expert
All the hosts on Queer Eye are an expert of some type, be it culture (Karamo), food, grooming, interior design, or fashion. But don’t say that to Karamo, because he hates being called a culture expert. To him, “culture” is too vague of a word and doesn’t properly denote or explain his work on the show.
He told Insider that he would rather be called the show’s “therapist, life coach, or counselor” but that the producers wanted to stick to the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy “expert” tradition. Hence, being stuck with “culture expert.”
He Missed The Audition
If it was up to the original casting directors, Karamo would have been replaced with someone else. This is because he completely missed the original auditions! Karamo called his agent and told him that he wanted to audition for Queer Eye, but his agent told him that the auditions were over. However, Karamo seems to have a particularly good agent, as he earned Karamo a personal telephone interview with the senior vice president of casting. The phone interview was a smashing success and Queer Eye officially had its culture expert.
He Didn’t Get Along With Antoni
We like to imagine the casts of our favorite shows getting along like one giant family, but that wasn’t the case with Queer Eye. Not at first. Karamo admitted to E! that he and Antoni did not get along while filming the first season of Queer Eye.
While details are vague, Karamo stated that this was due to an anonymous third party getting in between them and spreading false rumors. Luckily, both Karamo and Antoni decided to address the toxic third party, and it was this decision that finally allowed them to grow and become fast friends.
