Tan France denies that he tried to 'get rid' of another 'Queer Eye' cast member

Tan France appeared to respond to allegations he and his "Queer Eye" co-star Antoni Porowski teamed up to replace Bobby Berk with Jeremiah Brent for the makeover show's upcoming season.

Rolling Stone reported on March 5 that France and Porowski allegedly campaigned to replace Berk with their friend Brent, citing three sources with ties to the show.

France posted an Instagram video on March 8 so he could "address one point real quick."

"My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired," France said. "Netflix and the production companies did a full on casting. I didn't pop my friend up for the job — they ended up getting it because they were the best person for the job."

"I think they're gonna be incredible on the show, but I didn't get them hired by getting rid of somebody else," he continued. "So from the horse's mouth, I'm telling you, that that's not at all how it went down. And that's all I'll say on the matter."

France's allegation that Berk was fired from "Queer Eye" contradicts Berk's own comments about his departure from the show. France and Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com about France's video.

Netflix announced last month Brent would be rounding out the Fab Five for Season Nine of the show, according to Variety, following Berk's first announcement he was leaving "Queer Eye" in November.

When the news first broke in November 2023, speculation followed as to why Berk was exiting the franchise. Fans noticed Berk unfollowed France on Instagram and speculated if the two co-stars had tension. Berk handled home renovations on the show, whereas France is in charge of personal style.

Berk told Vanity Fair in January about the real reason he decided to part ways with the Netflix series — and whether France had anything to do with it.

“Tan and I had a moment,” Berk told Vanity Fair. “There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show."

He continued, "It was something personal that had been brewing —and nothing romantic, just to clarify that."

Looking back on the incident, he regrets unfollowing France in the first place.

“Should I have unfollowed Tan? No,” Berk said. “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.”

Berk said the two took a step forward when they both attended the Emmys earlier this month and "embraced each other."

“I will always have a very special place in my heart for him and Rob (France’s husband) and the kids," Berk said. "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.”

A rep for Tan France declined to comment to Vanity Fair in January.

As far as why he's leaving "Queer Eye"? Berk said that he and the rest of the Fab Five crew — France, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness — were ready to part ways with the series when their seven-cycle contract was up in September 2022.

“We thought we were done. Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things," Berk recalled.

But then, due to the actors and writers strike that took place last year, Netflix decided to offer a new contract for four additional cycles. Berk said that he and his co-stars were seemingly on the same page at first with not signing the contract.

“We’d just assumed that the show wouldn’t come back if we all didn’t come back,” he shared with Vanity Fair. “I was like, I’m not going to be having FOMO 'cause the show is not going to happen. I had become at peace with it.”But then, shortly before the contract deadline was up, Berk said that the other four Fab Five members decided to renew and that Netflix decided they could "recast one person" — that person being him.

TODAY.com reached out to France, Brown, Porowski and Van Ness in January following the Vanity Fair report but did not receive a response.

While Berk said that he was angry "for a second," after reflecting, he came to terms with his and his co-stars' decisions.

"All the plans that I had made when I thought we weren’t coming back, I just wasn’t willing to change those," Berk said. "I would have had to pump the brakes on multiple other projects that are already in process. We had mentally just prepared ourselves to move on — that’s why I left.”

Berk said he was looking back on his "Queer Eye" time with fond memories — and how transforming a home can be a life-altering moment.

"Your space can really transform your life,” Berk said. “You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be able to hire a designer. I hope that my legacy is showing that you can democratize design. Learning how to make your space work for you can be healing for you and your family.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com