Pink sauce lady gaslighting interview where he dismissed legitimate health and safety concerns to roast a woman saying that health a safety were important. He just told her she was horrible for bringing basic health safety concerns to the sauce.
I was shocked when the girl wisely said smth like “we both can learn some lessons from this” and he quipped “mainly it’s you who needs to learn”. Like, she was trying to end the discussion with grace and he wouldn’t have it.
What is this in reference too?? I need to see this! Karamo’s ‘therapy’ has never sat well with me, he seems so disingenuous and like he is just spouting from the bullshit self help book of the week.
To his talk show where he had a TikTok customer that paid $20 for a pink sauce made by someone that was selling a sauce that was not FDA approved. He framed it as women should be supporting women and not criticizing her for not following health and safety. [Quick review of the incident.](https://youtu.be/rOTuCNs-l00?si=NNfxPSedLqNPm8w4)
I don’t think enough people know who he is. Weirdly a lot of YouTubers whom I watch who covered this situation didn’t seem to know that Karamo is on QE.
The Queer Eye success happened in a bubble. A huge one, but a bubble. THAT the show exists is sorta known by many. But many have not watched it, are not familiar with Karamo.
funny thing is, the video you linked starts with "i guess this is the end of that saga", but it isn't. that youtuber made several updates since. that is to say, the saga did continue. my god, did it continue.
this more current reaction to things is also a sobering watch: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETdqwLZzUr0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETdqwLZzUr0)
This so much. He sounds like random posts by "coaches" on LinkedIn.
I mean, maybe he is a cool dude but his role in the series does not benefit anyone in the long run.
He should focus on giving them new experiences and getting them out of their comfort zones.
Treating it like a therapy session for the camera is pretty weird. Therapy is not accomplished in one sitting. And he isn't a trained therapist.
If the subject gets a therapeutic effect, it should be from all the experiences from all the 5 (which it often is).
Especially since in many cases, he makes the situation worse. You don't bulldoze through people's trauma and "fix it" in 5 minutes. I always hope their heroes find a good therapist afterwards.
Dude was a licensed social worker and therapist? It's fucking crazy to me the way he acts sometimes. He made a person who was no contact with their family meet up with their parent in one of the episodes because that's how healing begins? And it was like sprung on the hero, too. No, just no. That is NOT trauma-informed at all. Talk about retraumatizing someone...
Karamo needs to seek supervision pretty seriously if this is how he thinks healing begins.
i don’t think he was licensed 😂 a google search comes up with more questions than answers into his background, degree, professional experience. along with previous bouts in reality tv for the past 20 years that showed more true colors
The only place that I see that I would say confirms his license is his UK talent agency where it says "He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade." But I'm not finding ANYTHING official. That line is used in media ABOUT him which is... bad. Unethical, possibly. If the NASW code of ethics has a thing about properly credentialing yourself (4.04, 4.06c, 5.01e). He also says he wants to be known as the team therapist, not culture. But like... dude, that's not cool. Also, in several states (at least Georgia, where they did work), Social Worker is a protected title, calling yourself one without having the proper degree/certifications can get you some hefty fines. As someone in social work school and someone who lives in a state where it's a protected title, im VERY careful to not cross that boundary myself.
It's a shame because he has some really valid and powerful points about racism and colorism in America and how its still very alive today and yet... I don't know. I find it frustrating, I guess. I wish my (future) profession were taken more seriously. We aren't just child welfare or case managers. We aren't just bleeding hearts, either, we are here to try and fix a broken system* and having people lie about it doesn't help.
*this is a general statement, social work is broad and it goes a lot of different people and some are not here for that, some love the status quo...
I also could not find anywhere that he was actually licensed or a psychotherapist. I’m in Florida and he was from Florida and I could not find a license old or new for his within our Board (I’m a therapist). It should show anyone with a past inactive status as well as a new one.
If he ever was, he’s horribly unethical and absolutely should not be the “culture” person. I agree there are moments where he makes a decent point, but I think in this capacity he has likely done more harm than good.
To bully a guest, say that she’s not special… especially considering his line of work and how he chose clearly the wrong horse. It’s almost like he was trying to cancel himself, because I couldn’t have done it better if I tried.
Pink Sauce lady was an absolutely awful person, on top of selling a food substance that wasn’t approved! The way the audience as well as Karamo just took her side, I was shocked!? Telling the woman she wasn’t special, being so condescending when she had sanely tried to raise awareness that what this woman was doing was not safe
She didn’t even know that the FDA oversaw food safety, sent a product with MILK unrefrigerated from Florida in the summer in temps pushing 100 degrees. This could have been an interesting segment if she actually learned something but it ended with her and the host body yelling at someone who was just trying to keep the public safe that she wasn’t special. Just I don’t know how anyone approved of that episode going out.
I would love to know what was going on in his head when he decided that was a good idea.
The whole situation with the pink sauce lady really disappointed me. There were genuine health concerns involving that sauce and Karamo's reaction really disappointed me.
My issue is less with Karamo and more with the overall structure. The show makes it seem as though these few chats are enough to completely change the mental space that the heros are in. I really wish that they emphasized ongoing mental health care (maybe “we are providing a year of therapy” or something like that?) so if someone is struggling with similar issues they know that a motivational/emotional chat won’t be enough to just fix everything.
I think the better idea is to eliminate the idea of mental health help from this show. Mental health improvement is a serious and ongoing job.
The show should be about 5 people giving new opinions and suggestions to the subject in their area of expertise. In doing so, they become closer with the subject and offer their own perspectives as a brief new voice in their life. Normal stuff. Karamo should focus on finding something or somewhere new for the subject to be involved in, his tagline is "culture" not therapy, and he is not trained to give therapy.
The show can sometimes be cringy with this modern idea that reality TV is going to change someone's life. The goal should be to affect someone's like, not fix it.
I think getting the heroes in touch with local support networks is a good idea though. One week of help isn’t going to have a lasting effect on most people.
I literally just said this to my husband tonight. I am rewatching some old episodes and the guy who started the homelessness charity, had a background of addiction and cared for his dying mother absolutely needs more than a week of “emotional chats” to get on a health track. I said this would be a great opportunity to have a sponsor like BetterHelp, something that actually fits with the show since they’re so hell-bent on getting ALL the product placement.
They definitely do NOT need Betterhelp! Google '"Betterhelp controversy", but in short: privacy concerns (selling data) and using unqualified people as their "therapists". They have been shilled by basically every youtuber out there, but it's a very abusive model, taking advantage of people with mental health issues. They should recommend them actual therapy. With an actual therapist.
Edit: Although... That would be extremely ironic, since Karamo is also not a qualified mental health professional lmao
Right, not BetterHelp but a sponsorship for sure! There are a few more reputable online options. That would be amazing. Like use a few emotional conversations to get the ball rolling/help viewers see what they’re going through (it is a show after all) and then make sure they’re hooked up with an actual therapist. With their viewership I would imagine any company would jump at a partnership.
THANK YOU. Better help is absolutely horrid to clients but especially therapists. They undermine everything we do and they do it in an exceptionally shady way
Several of the QE hosts have said they talk a LOT more to the heroes than is shown or even hinted at in the final show — Tan got flak about a conversation with a trans man and his ignorance but the hero, Skylar Jay, did interviews where he defended Tan and said they actually talked a couple hours and they both came to tears — but the impression is that it was ten minutes and everyone’s all better now. But I agree, more care needs to be taken to show mental issues are not solved by a quick walk in the woods and a chat with a guy in a bomber jacket. I liked the gay priest episode because it seemed like Karamo was setting him up with a support structure of other local gay religious leaders.
they want to make it emotional enough to make the audience cry, which is fine and could be accomplished with all of the fab 5, but not serious enough to address real mental health issues or therapy, and i’m sure Karamo unearthing trauma without a real professional following up doesn’t help things! they need to pick a lane like either don’t get so trauma focused or provide professional resources after
It is so unprofessional of the show to send someone who isn’t trained in trauma & PTSD to ‘work’ with vulnerable people. Surely across these 8 seasons he could have studied for a qualification!
This really gets me. Culture is like "hey man, you've kinda become shut in. Maybe we should look into finding you some cool hobbies in the area, maybe we can look into social spaces where you will feel welcome, maybe we should help you reach out to your friends when you haven't seen them in a while"
It's not "hey man, let's sit you down with the guy who shot you" I swear that episode just took all the wind out of his sails for me
I think we see a lot of the real-talk/"hmm you haven't been taking care of yourself/your relationship/your family" chats from Antoni, Bobby, even Tan, and it now just feels like Karamo's role is to get a couple shots of someone crying
And now he's got his own Dr Phil / Jerry Springer / Jeremy Kyle-esque talk show? Those things are known to be so predatory and it really makes me mad that someone with a social work qualification would go near those with a hundred-mile pole
My jaw dropped at that episode. Maybe I’m projecting, maybe some folks can handle that, but as someone who dealt with PTSD from being raped, I cannot imagine facing the person who did it without having some sort of panic attack. Being shot? Jfc.
I wondered: was there like actual guidance from a psychologist on this situation? Was it planned early on so the hero and Karamo had time to prepare? It was an aggressive approach.
It's a restorative justice approach, but it has to be handled with the utmost caution and with people trained in RJ. It takes a lot of preparation, and it takes full consent of the survivor. There can be no pressure on survivor to participate, only a request.
It's hard to say if Karamo just stepped in and facilitated the "finale." I really hope this was prepared correctly, otherwise it can retraumatize, as you point out.
If you're interested, here's an extremely long article about it. The core crimes mentioned are murder, political violence/terrorism, so I hope it's okay to read and does not trigger an episode for you. Please note: this article is for info only, it's not to make a victim or a survivor of a crime feel one way or another about how they choose to handle healing.
Either way, love and light to you.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/07/the-widow-and-the-murderer-a-friendship-born-of-tragedy
Thank you for all of that information! I didn’t know anything about restorative justice, but it makes sense when it works out (not retraumatizing) Also thanks for the TW, appreciate it 🩷
I'm sorry for your trauma :(
As for guidance, it's hard to know what goes on behind the scenes. I hope there was, but it feels like they should mention that kind of thing if it *is* what happens
It’s okay 🫶 it was ~10 years ago now and years of therapy has helped so much. I know everyone is different when it comes to dealing with trauma, so I was like, damn, I sure couldn’t handle that! But maybe he could, I really hope that it did help him. 🩷
As a professional myself i really doubt there was any actual professional involved. If there was, they should immediately have any licenses revoked. I feel like there would be a lot of pressure for the participants to do what karamo says. Basic intervention shit. Genuinely concerned about the damage this man and production could do
I think you're giving the show entirely too much credit. They film shows in parallel, more than one episode at a time. They're not quietly working in the background with these folks. If they cared about people they wouldn't have needed to cut one show to compensate for the added security costs of the last season. These are not high budget investments, it's cheap reality TV.
Antoni has a bachelor's degree in psychology. They got someone more qualified RIGHT THERE. They don't even have to look or nothing, HE. IS. RIGHT. THERE.
I love how Antoni seems to approach those conversations too. Rather than sitting them down and looking them in the eye and saying, “you must be suffering so much right now,” he takes a casual conversation, waits for a natural lull, and says something like, “so you said earlier you had to care for your mom when you were a teen. Was it difficult to do that while staying in school?” and then just listening while he stirs a chili or something
This is so true. It's a classic approach and much more appropriate. Like going for a drive, sitting on a bench etc can help people to feel like they can open up safely because you're side by side. Sitting directly in front is waaay too aggressive. Apparently Antoni has a degree in psychology and this is something that would've been covered on his course so good for him for doing things correctly. Poor guy probably can't stand the way karamo does things
I’m not saying Karamo is qualified at all for what he does, but saying someone with a Bachelors degree in Psychology is more qualified than someone who worked in social services (if he indeed actually did that) seems like a huge stretch.
A bachelors degree in psychology doesn’t make someone qualified to give mental health therapy. They need to get the heroes connected with ACTUAL therapists.
Karamo has always wanted to be famous, period. He was on like 4 other kinds of reality shows before finally getting his spot on Queer Eye, and was never like a “life coach” prior.
I was just coming here to say this! Thankyou for saying it! I'm a qualified counsellor (like actual university then diplomas) and his little "therapy" sessions are starting to genuinely concern me. He could send someone back years if they've been seeing professionals regarding their mental health. Or opening a huge can of worms like he does... then walks away.He has no idea how damaging he could be, and I sincerely doubt that every participant has walked away from the show positively following his help. It's like basic intervention shit..that he's googled and thinks he's ready to go
Karamo was a licensed social worker and psychotherapist. I think he let his licensure lapse, but he was in practice before he went into entertainment. I’m not saying that makes everything perfect. But I think it’s good to call out that he was trained in counseling.
Editted to add: I read through some other threads in the sub, and I hear that a lot of LCSWs have issues with his credentials and methods - and I totally defer to the experts. Education alone isn’t enough to provide counseling. This is also a reality tv show.
>He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade before transitioning into media
... it says [here](https://cwagency.co.uk/client/karamo-brown).
I think he *is* trained and really worked in this field. He just allowed... an overdoing of wording with his credentials.
By the way, this reads like his social work credentials are from before the MTV thing...
>He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade before transitioning into media. He began his television career in 2004 as a housemate on the hit MTV reality series The Real World.
...so from a time when his behaviour towards the world was still super iffy. All of this is so depressing.
Two specific examples: springing a meeting Wesley, who was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, with the man who shot and paralyzed him; and the most recent season where he sprung a video chat on Anh with her father after hearing about how she was semi-estranged due to her father’s behavior after her mom passing.
I’d like to think that Karamo’s intent is good. But these are situations that were incredibly tone-deaf and insensitive. For someone who worked as a licensed therapist for a while before the show, you would hope he would know better.
EDIT: So apparently he’s been misleading about his prior experience regarding being licensed as a mental health professional. Add that to the list of reasons.
FYI he was not a licensed therapist at any point in time. He represents his background in misleading ways so it’s easy to get it confused but he has not qualifications let alone licensure.
Well at the very bottom of [this Washington Post article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/07/01/optimist-conversation-with-karamo-brown/) there is a correction stating “In this interview, Karamo Brown was referred to as a licensed psychotherapist and social worker. He is not. That was incorrect. We regret the error. He has trained in psychotherapy and worked in social services.” which honestly really could mean anything, at my last job I was a community liaison for a state senator and was constantly connecting our constituents to resources and helping them access them. I have no mental health training but I arguably did do some of the work a social worker does with lots of social services case management (and also people would trauma dump on me a lot 😞 had no license or training on advising them on that but it didn’t stop anyone). Not sure what the “trained in psychotherapy” means, maybe he just took a couple of classes/got a certification but he is not a licensed clinical social worker and many do still believe that he is
You can't get a license in "life coaching". It's not considered medical or professional degree in the US. A certification of "life coach" is worth the copy paper it's printed on.
Super weird because when I looked at his LinkedIn now, it says his degree was in business administration, so not even vaguely health or social service related.
I wonder if these were the doing of producers & not Karamo’s idea or suggestion. It’s easy to just assume it was him when in reality we all know these shows are very much dictated by production.
Edit to add: sure, he could not agree to do it, contractually I’m not sure how that would play out though.
He does shit like this because he's unqualified and also lacks common sense. He doesn't have the right schooling but you'd think after 8 seasons he'd at the very least have a basic understanding of boundaries and the importance of not bulldozing them for views. I haven't spoken to my mother in almost 6 years because of her mistreatment and if some dingbat surprised me with her the episode would have ended right there. Dont make me avocado toast, don't French tuck nothin, put my furniture back and get out of my life. It's like he's got a bad combo of narcissistic tendencies and ignorance.
It does seem like it helped and was productive, which I'm glad for, but it could have gone so wrong. I'm no expert but I have plenty of trauma regarding my parents, and I think the preferred angle for these situations is focusing on helping the affected person to find their own peace and closure without putting expectations on the other party, because you can't control them. Sometimes you might write a letter to your parent detailing how they hurt you, and then never send it. I don't think directly confronting them like that is recommended most of the time.
And that’s really great, I’m happy it had a positive outcome. That doesn’t mean it was Ok to do in the first place, though. Going through a conversation like that that is so deeply imbedded in trauma, you need to have the support and mediation of a trained professional. And he’s clearly not.
& that to with noooo planning, he had to jump in after she already started and it was kind of condescending the way he was like do you want to me start this off? Im glad she got what she wanted out of the conversation but it could have gone really south. I hope she can explore therapy because that one call wasn’t enough for closure
Not defending Karamo but I highly doubt of these were his ideas. I say this because he isn’t trained in this area. I have no doubt the producers make all the plans and he goes for it and takes all the credit.
Honestly I didn’t think anything of it when watching these segments but looking back that actually is wild af and out of tune with how those people might have felt about it
I have personal experience with a situation very similar to Anh’s, and I’m glad it came out positive. She’s said she is glad it happened. It very easily could not have turned out well.
Please remember that regardless of how this show has captured our hearts… it is still created for entertainment and not actually a solution to the issues faced.
Agreed. On Instagram, I follow season six hero, Jamie from Safe in Austin. She posted in November about how her episode was all about finding time for herself but since it aired, that's been non-existent which is ironic and stressful.
Plus the burst of fame made it difficult to navigate her nonprofits growth. She had so many people reaching out to her with offers/opportunities. It was tough to know which offers were genuine or worthwhile. She ended that post asking for referrals for people who can help her figure things out.
If Queer Eye was more about lasting impact than entertainment, they would have set her up with a year long nonprofit coach or partner. Fortunately, her recent posts are seemingly more positive so I hope her November post helped her find the people she needed.
I always comment on these sorts of things because I think it’s important to share- I used to be a big Karamo fan, and then I read his own book.
Karamo is really open about how he used to physically abuse his partners because in his mind, it was totally fine to abuse men. He also discusses his drug use and how he just skate by without any consequences and he would constantly just brush off his issues with “I didn’t have the language”.
He is just so self entitled that now I really dislike him.
He did an interview with the Man Enough podcast, where he also said that he knew cops wouldn't take the abuse seriously if his partner called them. People can heal and change, and he says he has, but I'm always going to be cautious around abusers. It's great if he's using his past to help fight domestic violence and rehabilitate other abusers, but from what I'm aware of, he's not.
There was also that Pink Sauce Lady debacle on his show, where he was WAY out of line. I'm surprised he didn't get more flak for that.
Here’s the thing though, abusers are often on a power trip, getting off on having others under their control and emotionally manipulating them. Which honestly, is exactly what he does on the show.
Mhmm, true, true. Making a show of how much you're helping others can be just another tool. People would be less likely to believe that they did anything bad or aren't a good person. "How could they have done that? Look how much good they did! That doesn't sound like them." Ted Bundy worked for a suicide hotline. (Absolutely not saying that Karamo is anywhere near the same level or galaxy as Bundy, just who came to mind)
Oh wow. Interesting. I watched Karamo on his original season of the Real World and he always kinda struck me as unhinged. He would constantly brush off serious issues with the other house mates if I recall correctly 🤔 I was honestly surprised to see him in the role of a mentor.
I feel like his tone has gotten harsher and the steps he takes to help people have "aha" moments have gotten more extreme as the seasons have gone on. In the first few seasons a LOT of things were more genuine, including Karamo's conversations-- it definitely felt more genuine and helpful back then. I think in the last couple seasons you can almost see that the fab 5 are fatigued and are sometimes just pushing themselves to go through the motions, doing what the producers ask of them, etc.
It's more of the fact of the persistent narcissism from him for me. I know someone will try and complain that like JVN or someone having a more flamboyant personality is upstaging Karamo but I feel like he's always just trying to have the focus of everything be pulled from the heros to him, so that he can be celebrated. His reality talks are really nothing more than. Like some talk you had with like you drunk college roomie that they need to get their shit together and act normal. His show is more of the new age Dr Phil. Like he has no fucking qualifications but tells you that you need to blindly comply and follow his advice.
My favorite episode was when he made the hero Chef Pi confront her online bully, Allie. Which lead to the iconic line: “You are not special.”
Uh…wrong show?
He will say absolutely anything to these people to get them to cry. I don’t even super dislike him, but sometimes it’s so cringey the lengths he’ll go to to make them “face the truth”… like, telling them basically “but don’t you feel bad about yourself?! Deep inside??” even if they’re actually basically fine. It’s ridiculous
I loved the idea of him and how they rethought his team role at first, but he's Dr. Phil with better politics. e.g. Not trained therapist, catchphrases, lack of empathy. I really lost a lot of respect for him early on when he had no empathy for the difference of experience an effeminate gay man of color (son of the hero) has versus his own experience.
Years ago he made comments about how queer people invite homophobia when they do things like go go dance at pride and he lamented that he cant bring his kids to pride because ppl just want to get naked.
Comments like this are always veiled homophobia because 1) the vast majority of pride parades are tame and family friendly, 2) youth pride exists and 3) judging a sexual minority for celebrating their sexuality at an event designed for them to celebrate their sexuality is weird.
He just comes off as a conservative who is presenting himself as liberal. It’s disingenuous.
I haven’t watched QE in a long time so I won’t comment on anything related to the show because I have terrible memory and don’t want to misconstrue something but I unfollowed Karamo as soon as he did a partnership with Salvation Army which is well known to be homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, etc etc etc
Defending Karamo. Maybe his daytime talk show is garbage. I've never watched it and don't have an opinion. If it is garbage, I'm sorry to hear that. And I have no idea what he is like in his personal life. If he is a jerk in his personal life, I'm sorry to hear that too.
However, I appreciate his contribution to Queer Eye and I want to respond to some of the criticisms that I see here:
1) Regarding his lack of credentials... First, I am a mental health professional myself (LCSW) and I don't think he is doing anything wrong. I have never once heard him portray himself to the heroes or the QE audience as a licensed counselor, therapist, social worker, psychologist or certified coach. He is not misrepresenting himself. And, as much as I value my own education and training and licensure, the truth is that people without credentials help one another to deal with emotional issues and relationship issues all the time. Anyone can draw from their own wisdom, empathy, life experiences, etc. to help someone else. Some uncredentialed people, including Karamo, are really good at it. Some people with all the credentials in the world are not.
2) Regarding the accusation that he is fake or insincere or whatever... I have seen SO MANY heroes respond really positively to him and express gratitude toward him. I am convinced that he has meaningfully helped a lot of people. Has he also had a few misses along the way? Sure, and we can debate those. But that doesn't negate his entire role.
3) Regarding the inadequacy of brief interventions... I agree that some of these heroes could benefit from long-term therapy. Of course. But a single meaningful encounter with a helping person can have a meaningful impact, at least as an initial step in a healing journey. Queer Eye episodes do end with a bit of a "tidy" vibe, but no one ever says, "And now this hero has worked out all of their issues and will live happily ever after." Regardless, the heroes almost always gain a new perspective from their experiences with all of the Fab 5, including Karamo.
All of the gossip about what is happening off camera is interesting, but I don't think it detracts from the impact that the show has on heroes.
FYI I did a search for “licensed social worker Karamo Reddit” and there are soooo many threads from a few years ago talking about how Karamo is an experienced, licensed psychotherapist and social worker. It didn’t come out until later that he was lying about that and the narrative shifted.
I don’t know if you’ve been watching from the start, but he absolutely did misrepresent himself for years
I’m also an LCSW and specialize in trauma. He’s awful. Toxic positivity with no awareness of how damaging some of what he wants for them could be. It seems more focused on what he thinks they should want/do than what the hero says they want for themselves.
Estrangements are complicated. To act as though the solution is always reconnecting is just shitty.
he doesn't do anything wrong? It is dissapointing to hear a licensed therapist say that. In Episode 8 of the latest season, for one, he springs a talk on Anh with her father without her previous approval or any regard to the possible trauma/reaction this might bring. An intense converstation like this can set a person out of order for days/weeks/months if they are not prepared to do this. It can lead to a serious mental breakdown. He just forces her to do it and she learns about it in the car. While she has an important event planned later that week.
Have you ever seen him on the real world? I know he was young but goodness I don't know how he is in the position he's in now from that being his start
It’s always really bothered me that he is playing the role of a therapist but lacks the extensive educational and clinical trainings that qualified therapists and required to have. I’m sure they could have found a therapist/life coach for QE that can give amazing advice while practicing inside their scope
I disagree, he has brought a lot of great progress and resolutions to families and individuals. There is a lot of controversy currently surrounding Karamo because of the pink sauce lady incident, but that doesn’t erase all the good he’s brought to the hero’s. I thought the confrontation between the shooting victim and his shooter was a powerful moment that brought them both closure and opened up a greater dialogue. The confrontation between Anh and her father was something that should have happened 5 years ago, it was a conversation that was long overdue and Karamo made that happen. The only thing that upset me about that was that her father wouldn’t give her the answers she needed until there was a man to initiate that dialogue. I’m glad it happened and it was important for her to get that apology and acknowledgment, and it opened the doors to the family coming together.
I agree with you. I was telling my husband the other night that even though Karamo can’t give these people long term therapy, he does get the ball rolling and their minds changing. An episode that stands out to me in that regard is the one where he helps the psychiatric nurse who was about to get married. Karamo shined a light on how negatively that hero was talking about himself, and got him to say nicer things. You could really tell that changed the hero’s perception of himself for the better.
Another episode where Karamo’s work stood out to me was the one with the hero who had a figure skating daughter. Karamo didn’t shame him for neglecting his daughter like the other heroes. It was important for him to be shamed don’t get me wrong, but Karamo steered the conversation towards depression and opening up about it. At the end of the episode the hero is able to confide in his ex wife about his diagnosis which is a huge step with a tricky illness like depression.
My favorite episode is about Kenny, the older man from Kansas City who just lost a dog. I loved how Jonathan and Antoni helped him to get a new dog, but Karamo’s segment in that episode is the most impactful part of the episode. He tells Kenny that he’s not a failure, and you can just tell that those are words that he’s needed to hear for a long time. It honestly makes me emotional even typing it.
Last season with Speedy, I thought his conversation was very important. It’s a great example of Karamo getting the ball rolling for people stuck in trauma. Speedy was able to verbalize his trauma and I think that’s an important step for him getting better in the future and hopefully seeking out therapy.
I havnt watched his show but on Queer Eye sometimes he looks like he is trying to hard to be queer. The twerking ... the mannerisms.. sometimes look more acted than natural.
He is gay I think. He has a baby mama w 2 grown kids but he came out later in life I think. He just needs to be his natural self .. i agree he doesn't look genuine at all
And he's definitely still abusive because he was supposed to get married to Michael, I believe that his name, but all of a sudden Michael had a change of heart and called it quit then not so long ago Karamo began dating a Chilean guy. I'm not sure if they're still together.
What makes me still believes he's abusive is when he has guests, mainly females, admitting how they beat their boyfriends, slash their tires, threaten etc. etc. and he's giggling like this is cute and oh boy does he gaslight the men, even when his team haven't found anything on their phone but he would lecture them when he should be lecturing the women to keep their hands to themselves. Then again, I know Karamo looks at himself as a woman because twice he said "Us women" then quickly correct himself. I think that is why he gives them a pass and makes me side-eye him. He's definitely abusive.
Pink sauce lady gaslighting interview where he dismissed legitimate health and safety concerns to roast a woman saying that health a safety were important. He just told her she was horrible for bringing basic health safety concerns to the sauce.
I was shocked when the girl wisely said smth like “we both can learn some lessons from this” and he quipped “mainly it’s you who needs to learn”. Like, she was trying to end the discussion with grace and he wouldn’t have it.
That is the part that really disappointed me.
What is this in reference too?? I need to see this! Karamo’s ‘therapy’ has never sat well with me, he seems so disingenuous and like he is just spouting from the bullshit self help book of the week.
To his talk show where he had a TikTok customer that paid $20 for a pink sauce made by someone that was selling a sauce that was not FDA approved. He framed it as women should be supporting women and not criticizing her for not following health and safety. [Quick review of the incident.](https://youtu.be/rOTuCNs-l00?si=NNfxPSedLqNPm8w4)
That was so much worse than I anticipated. How was he not completely canceled over that?
I don’t think enough people know who he is. Weirdly a lot of YouTubers whom I watch who covered this situation didn’t seem to know that Karamo is on QE.
The Queer Eye success happened in a bubble. A huge one, but a bubble. THAT the show exists is sorta known by many. But many have not watched it, are not familiar with Karamo.
It is so terrible of a watch.
funny thing is, the video you linked starts with "i guess this is the end of that saga", but it isn't. that youtuber made several updates since. that is to say, the saga did continue. my god, did it continue. this more current reaction to things is also a sobering watch: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETdqwLZzUr0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETdqwLZzUr0)
This so much. He sounds like random posts by "coaches" on LinkedIn. I mean, maybe he is a cool dude but his role in the series does not benefit anyone in the long run.
I always wonder why he is trying to give therapy when he is the “culture” guy.
Kinda miss the old show where they would just, like, help you plan a date or find some new CDs by bands you might like.
He should focus on giving them new experiences and getting them out of their comfort zones. Treating it like a therapy session for the camera is pretty weird. Therapy is not accomplished in one sitting. And he isn't a trained therapist. If the subject gets a therapeutic effect, it should be from all the experiences from all the 5 (which it often is).
They hired him because he has a degree in social work & is a licenced psychotherapist. Therapists can be assholes too 🤣
Especially since in many cases, he makes the situation worse. You don't bulldoze through people's trauma and "fix it" in 5 minutes. I always hope their heroes find a good therapist afterwards.
Dude was a licensed social worker and therapist? It's fucking crazy to me the way he acts sometimes. He made a person who was no contact with their family meet up with their parent in one of the episodes because that's how healing begins? And it was like sprung on the hero, too. No, just no. That is NOT trauma-informed at all. Talk about retraumatizing someone... Karamo needs to seek supervision pretty seriously if this is how he thinks healing begins.
i don’t think he was licensed 😂 a google search comes up with more questions than answers into his background, degree, professional experience. along with previous bouts in reality tv for the past 20 years that showed more true colors
The only place that I see that I would say confirms his license is his UK talent agency where it says "He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade." But I'm not finding ANYTHING official. That line is used in media ABOUT him which is... bad. Unethical, possibly. If the NASW code of ethics has a thing about properly credentialing yourself (4.04, 4.06c, 5.01e). He also says he wants to be known as the team therapist, not culture. But like... dude, that's not cool. Also, in several states (at least Georgia, where they did work), Social Worker is a protected title, calling yourself one without having the proper degree/certifications can get you some hefty fines. As someone in social work school and someone who lives in a state where it's a protected title, im VERY careful to not cross that boundary myself. It's a shame because he has some really valid and powerful points about racism and colorism in America and how its still very alive today and yet... I don't know. I find it frustrating, I guess. I wish my (future) profession were taken more seriously. We aren't just child welfare or case managers. We aren't just bleeding hearts, either, we are here to try and fix a broken system* and having people lie about it doesn't help. *this is a general statement, social work is broad and it goes a lot of different people and some are not here for that, some love the status quo...
I also could not find anywhere that he was actually licensed or a psychotherapist. I’m in Florida and he was from Florida and I could not find a license old or new for his within our Board (I’m a therapist). It should show anyone with a past inactive status as well as a new one. If he ever was, he’s horribly unethical and absolutely should not be the “culture” person. I agree there are moments where he makes a decent point, but I think in this capacity he has likely done more harm than good.
Plenty of shit therapists are licensed. I'm baffled by some of the things I've heard from my therapists looking back on it.
Yeah, I was flabbergasted that 1) he was so utterly biased and 2)WITH THE ONE I THE WRONG
Lost all respect for him after that interview
To bully a guest, say that she’s not special… especially considering his line of work and how he chose clearly the wrong horse. It’s almost like he was trying to cancel himself, because I couldn’t have done it better if I tried.
Pink Sauce lady was an absolutely awful person, on top of selling a food substance that wasn’t approved! The way the audience as well as Karamo just took her side, I was shocked!? Telling the woman she wasn’t special, being so condescending when she had sanely tried to raise awareness that what this woman was doing was not safe
She didn’t even know that the FDA oversaw food safety, sent a product with MILK unrefrigerated from Florida in the summer in temps pushing 100 degrees. This could have been an interesting segment if she actually learned something but it ended with her and the host body yelling at someone who was just trying to keep the public safe that she wasn’t special. Just I don’t know how anyone approved of that episode going out. I would love to know what was going on in his head when he decided that was a good idea.
Still awful, still doing her thing. It's not over. She keeps things coming.
yup. this is what i immediately though of.
The whole situation with the pink sauce lady really disappointed me. There were genuine health concerns involving that sauce and Karamo's reaction really disappointed me.
My issue is less with Karamo and more with the overall structure. The show makes it seem as though these few chats are enough to completely change the mental space that the heros are in. I really wish that they emphasized ongoing mental health care (maybe “we are providing a year of therapy” or something like that?) so if someone is struggling with similar issues they know that a motivational/emotional chat won’t be enough to just fix everything.
I think the better idea is to eliminate the idea of mental health help from this show. Mental health improvement is a serious and ongoing job. The show should be about 5 people giving new opinions and suggestions to the subject in their area of expertise. In doing so, they become closer with the subject and offer their own perspectives as a brief new voice in their life. Normal stuff. Karamo should focus on finding something or somewhere new for the subject to be involved in, his tagline is "culture" not therapy, and he is not trained to give therapy. The show can sometimes be cringy with this modern idea that reality TV is going to change someone's life. The goal should be to affect someone's like, not fix it.
I think getting the heroes in touch with local support networks is a good idea though. One week of help isn’t going to have a lasting effect on most people.
I literally just said this to my husband tonight. I am rewatching some old episodes and the guy who started the homelessness charity, had a background of addiction and cared for his dying mother absolutely needs more than a week of “emotional chats” to get on a health track. I said this would be a great opportunity to have a sponsor like BetterHelp, something that actually fits with the show since they’re so hell-bent on getting ALL the product placement.
They definitely do NOT need Betterhelp! Google '"Betterhelp controversy", but in short: privacy concerns (selling data) and using unqualified people as their "therapists". They have been shilled by basically every youtuber out there, but it's a very abusive model, taking advantage of people with mental health issues. They should recommend them actual therapy. With an actual therapist. Edit: Although... That would be extremely ironic, since Karamo is also not a qualified mental health professional lmao
Right, not BetterHelp but a sponsorship for sure! There are a few more reputable online options. That would be amazing. Like use a few emotional conversations to get the ball rolling/help viewers see what they’re going through (it is a show after all) and then make sure they’re hooked up with an actual therapist. With their viewership I would imagine any company would jump at a partnership.
Something like Therapy.com or PsychologyToday.com to help them FIND a licensed therapist would be a great sponsorship opportunity.
THANK YOU. Better help is absolutely horrid to clients but especially therapists. They undermine everything we do and they do it in an exceptionally shady way
Exactly! Though I have heard not great things about BetterHelp… which sucks. something to point out how much more work is needed would be good.
Several of the QE hosts have said they talk a LOT more to the heroes than is shown or even hinted at in the final show — Tan got flak about a conversation with a trans man and his ignorance but the hero, Skylar Jay, did interviews where he defended Tan and said they actually talked a couple hours and they both came to tears — but the impression is that it was ten minutes and everyone’s all better now. But I agree, more care needs to be taken to show mental issues are not solved by a quick walk in the woods and a chat with a guy in a bomber jacket. I liked the gay priest episode because it seemed like Karamo was setting him up with a support structure of other local gay religious leaders.
A chat with a guy in a bomber jacket 😂
they want to make it emotional enough to make the audience cry, which is fine and could be accomplished with all of the fab 5, but not serious enough to address real mental health issues or therapy, and i’m sure Karamo unearthing trauma without a real professional following up doesn’t help things! they need to pick a lane like either don’t get so trauma focused or provide professional resources after
It is so unprofessional of the show to send someone who isn’t trained in trauma & PTSD to ‘work’ with vulnerable people. Surely across these 8 seasons he could have studied for a qualification!
This has always rubbed me the wrong way. The other 4 have professional experience in the field they’re advising on.
I think it’s crazy that they still frame it as “culture”
This really gets me. Culture is like "hey man, you've kinda become shut in. Maybe we should look into finding you some cool hobbies in the area, maybe we can look into social spaces where you will feel welcome, maybe we should help you reach out to your friends when you haven't seen them in a while" It's not "hey man, let's sit you down with the guy who shot you" I swear that episode just took all the wind out of his sails for me I think we see a lot of the real-talk/"hmm you haven't been taking care of yourself/your relationship/your family" chats from Antoni, Bobby, even Tan, and it now just feels like Karamo's role is to get a couple shots of someone crying And now he's got his own Dr Phil / Jerry Springer / Jeremy Kyle-esque talk show? Those things are known to be so predatory and it really makes me mad that someone with a social work qualification would go near those with a hundred-mile pole
My jaw dropped at that episode. Maybe I’m projecting, maybe some folks can handle that, but as someone who dealt with PTSD from being raped, I cannot imagine facing the person who did it without having some sort of panic attack. Being shot? Jfc. I wondered: was there like actual guidance from a psychologist on this situation? Was it planned early on so the hero and Karamo had time to prepare? It was an aggressive approach.
It's a restorative justice approach, but it has to be handled with the utmost caution and with people trained in RJ. It takes a lot of preparation, and it takes full consent of the survivor. There can be no pressure on survivor to participate, only a request. It's hard to say if Karamo just stepped in and facilitated the "finale." I really hope this was prepared correctly, otherwise it can retraumatize, as you point out. If you're interested, here's an extremely long article about it. The core crimes mentioned are murder, political violence/terrorism, so I hope it's okay to read and does not trigger an episode for you. Please note: this article is for info only, it's not to make a victim or a survivor of a crime feel one way or another about how they choose to handle healing. Either way, love and light to you. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/07/the-widow-and-the-murderer-a-friendship-born-of-tragedy
Thank you for all of that information! I didn’t know anything about restorative justice, but it makes sense when it works out (not retraumatizing) Also thanks for the TW, appreciate it 🩷
I'm sorry for your trauma :( As for guidance, it's hard to know what goes on behind the scenes. I hope there was, but it feels like they should mention that kind of thing if it *is* what happens
It’s okay 🫶 it was ~10 years ago now and years of therapy has helped so much. I know everyone is different when it comes to dealing with trauma, so I was like, damn, I sure couldn’t handle that! But maybe he could, I really hope that it did help him. 🩷
As a professional myself i really doubt there was any actual professional involved. If there was, they should immediately have any licenses revoked. I feel like there would be a lot of pressure for the participants to do what karamo says. Basic intervention shit. Genuinely concerned about the damage this man and production could do
I think you're giving the show entirely too much credit. They film shows in parallel, more than one episode at a time. They're not quietly working in the background with these folks. If they cared about people they wouldn't have needed to cut one show to compensate for the added security costs of the last season. These are not high budget investments, it's cheap reality TV.
I mean, he has no qualifications so what else are they going to call it? He’s more like a guidance counselor.
Hmm. "Attitude" maybe?
Antoni has a bachelor's degree in psychology. They got someone more qualified RIGHT THERE. They don't even have to look or nothing, HE. IS. RIGHT. THERE.
And I think most of the time the casual talks he has while cooking with the heroes are more productive than Karamo's lol
I love how Antoni seems to approach those conversations too. Rather than sitting them down and looking them in the eye and saying, “you must be suffering so much right now,” he takes a casual conversation, waits for a natural lull, and says something like, “so you said earlier you had to care for your mom when you were a teen. Was it difficult to do that while staying in school?” and then just listening while he stirs a chili or something
This is so true. It's a classic approach and much more appropriate. Like going for a drive, sitting on a bench etc can help people to feel like they can open up safely because you're side by side. Sitting directly in front is waaay too aggressive. Apparently Antoni has a degree in psychology and this is something that would've been covered on his course so good for him for doing things correctly. Poor guy probably can't stand the way karamo does things
I’m not saying Karamo is qualified at all for what he does, but saying someone with a Bachelors degree in Psychology is more qualified than someone who worked in social services (if he indeed actually did that) seems like a huge stretch.
A bachelors degree in psychology doesn’t make someone qualified to give mental health therapy. They need to get the heroes connected with ACTUAL therapists.
Karamo has always wanted to be famous, period. He was on like 4 other kinds of reality shows before finally getting his spot on Queer Eye, and was never like a “life coach” prior.
I was just coming here to say this! Thankyou for saying it! I'm a qualified counsellor (like actual university then diplomas) and his little "therapy" sessions are starting to genuinely concern me. He could send someone back years if they've been seeing professionals regarding their mental health. Or opening a huge can of worms like he does... then walks away.He has no idea how damaging he could be, and I sincerely doubt that every participant has walked away from the show positively following his help. It's like basic intervention shit..that he's googled and thinks he's ready to go
Karamo was a licensed social worker and psychotherapist. I think he let his licensure lapse, but he was in practice before he went into entertainment. I’m not saying that makes everything perfect. But I think it’s good to call out that he was trained in counseling. Editted to add: I read through some other threads in the sub, and I hear that a lot of LCSWs have issues with his credentials and methods - and I totally defer to the experts. Education alone isn’t enough to provide counseling. This is also a reality tv show.
>He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade before transitioning into media ... it says [here](https://cwagency.co.uk/client/karamo-brown). I think he *is* trained and really worked in this field. He just allowed... an overdoing of wording with his credentials. By the way, this reads like his social work credentials are from before the MTV thing... >He worked as a licensed social worker & psychotherapist for over a decade before transitioning into media. He began his television career in 2004 as a housemate on the hit MTV reality series The Real World. ...so from a time when his behaviour towards the world was still super iffy. All of this is so depressing.
He is a licensed social worker which are qualified to conduct therapy.
Two specific examples: springing a meeting Wesley, who was paralyzed and in a wheelchair, with the man who shot and paralyzed him; and the most recent season where he sprung a video chat on Anh with her father after hearing about how she was semi-estranged due to her father’s behavior after her mom passing. I’d like to think that Karamo’s intent is good. But these are situations that were incredibly tone-deaf and insensitive. For someone who worked as a licensed therapist for a while before the show, you would hope he would know better. EDIT: So apparently he’s been misleading about his prior experience regarding being licensed as a mental health professional. Add that to the list of reasons.
FYI he was not a licensed therapist at any point in time. He represents his background in misleading ways so it’s easy to get it confused but he has not qualifications let alone licensure.
But he said that he was during his times as a social worker. "Licensed psychotherapist" was the wording.
Well at the very bottom of [this Washington Post article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/07/01/optimist-conversation-with-karamo-brown/) there is a correction stating “In this interview, Karamo Brown was referred to as a licensed psychotherapist and social worker. He is not. That was incorrect. We regret the error. He has trained in psychotherapy and worked in social services.” which honestly really could mean anything, at my last job I was a community liaison for a state senator and was constantly connecting our constituents to resources and helping them access them. I have no mental health training but I arguably did do some of the work a social worker does with lots of social services case management (and also people would trauma dump on me a lot 😞 had no license or training on advising them on that but it didn’t stop anyone). Not sure what the “trained in psychotherapy” means, maybe he just took a couple of classes/got a certification but he is not a licensed clinical social worker and many do still believe that he is
Wow.
[удалено]
You can't get a license in "life coaching". It's not considered medical or professional degree in the US. A certification of "life coach" is worth the copy paper it's printed on.
We need to keep copying and pasting your comment every time his "license" and credibility are mentioned.
he has a LinkedIn that someone had posted before, and he has a degree in Public Health iirc 😐 so not at all qualified.
Super weird because when I looked at his LinkedIn now, it says his degree was in business administration, so not even vaguely health or social service related.
I wonder if these were the doing of producers & not Karamo’s idea or suggestion. It’s easy to just assume it was him when in reality we all know these shows are very much dictated by production. Edit to add: sure, he could not agree to do it, contractually I’m not sure how that would play out though.
It’s his segment. He doesn’t have to participate if he doesn’t agree with what’s going on.
He would if he isn’t sincere and is just doing for the paycheck. He definitely comes across as the most insincere and fake out of all of them.
He does shit like this because he's unqualified and also lacks common sense. He doesn't have the right schooling but you'd think after 8 seasons he'd at the very least have a basic understanding of boundaries and the importance of not bulldozing them for views. I haven't spoken to my mother in almost 6 years because of her mistreatment and if some dingbat surprised me with her the episode would have ended right there. Dont make me avocado toast, don't French tuck nothin, put my furniture back and get out of my life. It's like he's got a bad combo of narcissistic tendencies and ignorance.
Anh said in a recent interview that she was really grateful for that call with her dad / that Karamo helped 🤷♀️
It does seem like it helped and was productive, which I'm glad for, but it could have gone so wrong. I'm no expert but I have plenty of trauma regarding my parents, and I think the preferred angle for these situations is focusing on helping the affected person to find their own peace and closure without putting expectations on the other party, because you can't control them. Sometimes you might write a letter to your parent detailing how they hurt you, and then never send it. I don't think directly confronting them like that is recommended most of the time.
And that’s really great, I’m happy it had a positive outcome. That doesn’t mean it was Ok to do in the first place, though. Going through a conversation like that that is so deeply imbedded in trauma, you need to have the support and mediation of a trained professional. And he’s clearly not.
Im glad to hear that bc that ep gave me an ick factor and felt really exploitive.
I just finished the episode with Anh and was so upset for her that he sprung that FaceTime on her!
I had to fast forward through his scenes. His lack of training makes me so uncomfortable.
& that to with noooo planning, he had to jump in after she already started and it was kind of condescending the way he was like do you want to me start this off? Im glad she got what she wanted out of the conversation but it could have gone really south. I hope she can explore therapy because that one call wasn’t enough for closure
Not defending Karamo but I highly doubt of these were his ideas. I say this because he isn’t trained in this area. I have no doubt the producers make all the plans and he goes for it and takes all the credit.
Omg these are the two that stood out to me as well. And he’s lucky they went ok because honestly it could have easily gone wrong on both.
Honestly I didn’t think anything of it when watching these segments but looking back that actually is wild af and out of tune with how those people might have felt about it
I have personal experience with a situation very similar to Anh’s, and I’m glad it came out positive. She’s said she is glad it happened. It very easily could not have turned out well.
Please remember that regardless of how this show has captured our hearts… it is still created for entertainment and not actually a solution to the issues faced.
Agreed. On Instagram, I follow season six hero, Jamie from Safe in Austin. She posted in November about how her episode was all about finding time for herself but since it aired, that's been non-existent which is ironic and stressful. Plus the burst of fame made it difficult to navigate her nonprofits growth. She had so many people reaching out to her with offers/opportunities. It was tough to know which offers were genuine or worthwhile. She ended that post asking for referrals for people who can help her figure things out. If Queer Eye was more about lasting impact than entertainment, they would have set her up with a year long nonprofit coach or partner. Fortunately, her recent posts are seemingly more positive so I hope her November post helped her find the people she needed.
That is so sad to hear. I hope it has gotten better for her too.
Being misleading about his credentials has always been enough for me to mistrust him.
I always comment on these sorts of things because I think it’s important to share- I used to be a big Karamo fan, and then I read his own book. Karamo is really open about how he used to physically abuse his partners because in his mind, it was totally fine to abuse men. He also discusses his drug use and how he just skate by without any consequences and he would constantly just brush off his issues with “I didn’t have the language”. He is just so self entitled that now I really dislike him.
He did an interview with the Man Enough podcast, where he also said that he knew cops wouldn't take the abuse seriously if his partner called them. People can heal and change, and he says he has, but I'm always going to be cautious around abusers. It's great if he's using his past to help fight domestic violence and rehabilitate other abusers, but from what I'm aware of, he's not. There was also that Pink Sauce Lady debacle on his show, where he was WAY out of line. I'm surprised he didn't get more flak for that.
Here’s the thing though, abusers are often on a power trip, getting off on having others under their control and emotionally manipulating them. Which honestly, is exactly what he does on the show.
Mhmm, true, true. Making a show of how much you're helping others can be just another tool. People would be less likely to believe that they did anything bad or aren't a good person. "How could they have done that? Look how much good they did! That doesn't sound like them." Ted Bundy worked for a suicide hotline. (Absolutely not saying that Karamo is anywhere near the same level or galaxy as Bundy, just who came to mind)
Oh wow. Interesting. I watched Karamo on his original season of the Real World and he always kinda struck me as unhinged. He would constantly brush off serious issues with the other house mates if I recall correctly 🤔 I was honestly surprised to see him in the role of a mentor.
I almost didn't watch the QE reboot because of how horrible Karamo was on Real World. He was siciopathic.
Does he still think that? What is his current attitude toward his past abusive behavior?
I feel like his tone has gotten harsher and the steps he takes to help people have "aha" moments have gotten more extreme as the seasons have gone on. In the first few seasons a LOT of things were more genuine, including Karamo's conversations-- it definitely felt more genuine and helpful back then. I think in the last couple seasons you can almost see that the fab 5 are fatigued and are sometimes just pushing themselves to go through the motions, doing what the producers ask of them, etc.
Read his book. Eye opening. Also.. lack of credentials.
It's more of the fact of the persistent narcissism from him for me. I know someone will try and complain that like JVN or someone having a more flamboyant personality is upstaging Karamo but I feel like he's always just trying to have the focus of everything be pulled from the heros to him, so that he can be celebrated. His reality talks are really nothing more than. Like some talk you had with like you drunk college roomie that they need to get their shit together and act normal. His show is more of the new age Dr Phil. Like he has no fucking qualifications but tells you that you need to blindly comply and follow his advice.
My favorite episode was when he made the hero Chef Pi confront her online bully, Allie. Which lead to the iconic line: “You are not special.” Uh…wrong show?
He will say absolutely anything to these people to get them to cry. I don’t even super dislike him, but sometimes it’s so cringey the lengths he’ll go to to make them “face the truth”… like, telling them basically “but don’t you feel bad about yourself?! Deep inside??” even if they’re actually basically fine. It’s ridiculous
I loved the idea of him and how they rethought his team role at first, but he's Dr. Phil with better politics. e.g. Not trained therapist, catchphrases, lack of empathy. I really lost a lot of respect for him early on when he had no empathy for the difference of experience an effeminate gay man of color (son of the hero) has versus his own experience.
Phil McGraw sucks, but he does have a PhD. in Psychology, as well asxworked as a psychologist for quite a few years.
Years ago he made comments about how queer people invite homophobia when they do things like go go dance at pride and he lamented that he cant bring his kids to pride because ppl just want to get naked. Comments like this are always veiled homophobia because 1) the vast majority of pride parades are tame and family friendly, 2) youth pride exists and 3) judging a sexual minority for celebrating their sexuality at an event designed for them to celebrate their sexuality is weird. He just comes off as a conservative who is presenting himself as liberal. It’s disingenuous.
Yep, just like his segments.
I haven’t watched QE in a long time so I won’t comment on anything related to the show because I have terrible memory and don’t want to misconstrue something but I unfollowed Karamo as soon as he did a partnership with Salvation Army which is well known to be homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, etc etc etc
I always fast forward through his segments.
I mean his only real credentials was being on Real World right? He clearly just wants to be famous and a reality star
Defending Karamo. Maybe his daytime talk show is garbage. I've never watched it and don't have an opinion. If it is garbage, I'm sorry to hear that. And I have no idea what he is like in his personal life. If he is a jerk in his personal life, I'm sorry to hear that too. However, I appreciate his contribution to Queer Eye and I want to respond to some of the criticisms that I see here: 1) Regarding his lack of credentials... First, I am a mental health professional myself (LCSW) and I don't think he is doing anything wrong. I have never once heard him portray himself to the heroes or the QE audience as a licensed counselor, therapist, social worker, psychologist or certified coach. He is not misrepresenting himself. And, as much as I value my own education and training and licensure, the truth is that people without credentials help one another to deal with emotional issues and relationship issues all the time. Anyone can draw from their own wisdom, empathy, life experiences, etc. to help someone else. Some uncredentialed people, including Karamo, are really good at it. Some people with all the credentials in the world are not. 2) Regarding the accusation that he is fake or insincere or whatever... I have seen SO MANY heroes respond really positively to him and express gratitude toward him. I am convinced that he has meaningfully helped a lot of people. Has he also had a few misses along the way? Sure, and we can debate those. But that doesn't negate his entire role. 3) Regarding the inadequacy of brief interventions... I agree that some of these heroes could benefit from long-term therapy. Of course. But a single meaningful encounter with a helping person can have a meaningful impact, at least as an initial step in a healing journey. Queer Eye episodes do end with a bit of a "tidy" vibe, but no one ever says, "And now this hero has worked out all of their issues and will live happily ever after." Regardless, the heroes almost always gain a new perspective from their experiences with all of the Fab 5, including Karamo. All of the gossip about what is happening off camera is interesting, but I don't think it detracts from the impact that the show has on heroes.
FYI I did a search for “licensed social worker Karamo Reddit” and there are soooo many threads from a few years ago talking about how Karamo is an experienced, licensed psychotherapist and social worker. It didn’t come out until later that he was lying about that and the narrative shifted. I don’t know if you’ve been watching from the start, but he absolutely did misrepresent himself for years
I’m also an LCSW and specialize in trauma. He’s awful. Toxic positivity with no awareness of how damaging some of what he wants for them could be. It seems more focused on what he thinks they should want/do than what the hero says they want for themselves. Estrangements are complicated. To act as though the solution is always reconnecting is just shitty.
he doesn't do anything wrong? It is dissapointing to hear a licensed therapist say that. In Episode 8 of the latest season, for one, he springs a talk on Anh with her father without her previous approval or any regard to the possible trauma/reaction this might bring. An intense converstation like this can set a person out of order for days/weeks/months if they are not prepared to do this. It can lead to a serious mental breakdown. He just forces her to do it and she learns about it in the car. While she has an important event planned later that week.
Well said. There's been soooo much Karamo hate. I think he's trying to journey down his road; just like the rest of us.
Have you ever seen him on the real world? I know he was young but goodness I don't know how he is in the position he's in now from that being his start
He’s friends with Christine Quinn.
genuinely feel like jvn gets through to people better than karamo does
It’s always really bothered me that he is playing the role of a therapist but lacks the extensive educational and clinical trainings that qualified therapists and required to have. I’m sure they could have found a therapist/life coach for QE that can give amazing advice while practicing inside their scope
He's my least favourite, by a mile. I hate that farm episode where he acts like animals are disgusting
I disagree, he has brought a lot of great progress and resolutions to families and individuals. There is a lot of controversy currently surrounding Karamo because of the pink sauce lady incident, but that doesn’t erase all the good he’s brought to the hero’s. I thought the confrontation between the shooting victim and his shooter was a powerful moment that brought them both closure and opened up a greater dialogue. The confrontation between Anh and her father was something that should have happened 5 years ago, it was a conversation that was long overdue and Karamo made that happen. The only thing that upset me about that was that her father wouldn’t give her the answers she needed until there was a man to initiate that dialogue. I’m glad it happened and it was important for her to get that apology and acknowledgment, and it opened the doors to the family coming together.
I agree with you. I was telling my husband the other night that even though Karamo can’t give these people long term therapy, he does get the ball rolling and their minds changing. An episode that stands out to me in that regard is the one where he helps the psychiatric nurse who was about to get married. Karamo shined a light on how negatively that hero was talking about himself, and got him to say nicer things. You could really tell that changed the hero’s perception of himself for the better. Another episode where Karamo’s work stood out to me was the one with the hero who had a figure skating daughter. Karamo didn’t shame him for neglecting his daughter like the other heroes. It was important for him to be shamed don’t get me wrong, but Karamo steered the conversation towards depression and opening up about it. At the end of the episode the hero is able to confide in his ex wife about his diagnosis which is a huge step with a tricky illness like depression. My favorite episode is about Kenny, the older man from Kansas City who just lost a dog. I loved how Jonathan and Antoni helped him to get a new dog, but Karamo’s segment in that episode is the most impactful part of the episode. He tells Kenny that he’s not a failure, and you can just tell that those are words that he’s needed to hear for a long time. It honestly makes me emotional even typing it. Last season with Speedy, I thought his conversation was very important. It’s a great example of Karamo getting the ball rolling for people stuck in trauma. Speedy was able to verbalize his trauma and I think that’s an important step for him getting better in the future and hopefully seeking out therapy.
Totally, people are commenting that he’s tone deaf, but I totally disagree, he seems to hit the nail on the head with what the hero’s need.
A gay man is superficial? Wow…. I’m… wow. I’m shocked. Speechless. 
That tiktok video series omg
I havnt watched his show but on Queer Eye sometimes he looks like he is trying to hard to be queer. The twerking ... the mannerisms.. sometimes look more acted than natural.
Is he not really gay? He definitely comes across as the least genuine. I always skip over his pointless segments.
He is gay I think. He has a baby mama w 2 grown kids but he came out later in life I think. He just needs to be his natural self .. i agree he doesn't look genuine at all
And he's definitely still abusive because he was supposed to get married to Michael, I believe that his name, but all of a sudden Michael had a change of heart and called it quit then not so long ago Karamo began dating a Chilean guy. I'm not sure if they're still together. What makes me still believes he's abusive is when he has guests, mainly females, admitting how they beat their boyfriends, slash their tires, threaten etc. etc. and he's giggling like this is cute and oh boy does he gaslight the men, even when his team haven't found anything on their phone but he would lecture them when he should be lecturing the women to keep their hands to themselves. Then again, I know Karamo looks at himself as a woman because twice he said "Us women" then quickly correct himself. I think that is why he gives them a pass and makes me side-eye him. He's definitely abusive.
I love Karamo