Queer Eye's Bobby Berk claims he 'lost money' being on show, says he was 'paid basically nothing' for first two seasons

Interior designer and television personality Bobby Berk, who appeared on Netflix’s Queer Eye, recently revealed that his compensation for the first two seasons of the hit reality series was minimal.

While appearing on the podcast Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF, Berk spoke to host Vivian about the monetary aspects of appearing on Queer Eye as an interior design expert. When asked if he earned a lot of money through the show, Berk noted,

“The first two seasons, I definitely lost money being on the show. Because, I mean, they were paying us basically nothing.”

Berk, who runs his own home design brand, added,

“And the amount of money that I was losing from not running my company and being gone because we had to move away. We were gone for five months, and so half the year we were gone, and then we were on just constant press tours, but yeah the first two seasons, I definitely lost money. Season three and four, I probably broke even.”

Even though his compensation for appearing on Queer Eye was less, Berk agreed that the show opened up opportunities to partner with brands. While appearing on Networth and Chill, he said,

“To be frank, they never really paid us well. You know, compared to what they pay scripted stars, we made single digit percentage. Obviously, what it did, though, was open up doors for working with brands, working with companies…I mean you can't pay for that type of exposure.”

Bobby Berk also noted that the cast, which included Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Karamo Brown, and Antoni Porowski, received flak for partnering with brands during the run of the show. Addressing the criticism, Berk said,

“We're like, ‘Well, girl, we don't make money off the show. How do you think we continue to do the show?’”

Bobby Berk left Queer Eye after 8 Seasons

In 2023, Bobby Berk announced that he would be exiting the show after its eighth season, which premiered in January 2024. Berk directly addressed his fans on social media and 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.”

While speaking about the transformational aspects of appearing on the show, Berk wrote,

“To all our wonderful, loving, amazing, and brave heroes there is so much I want to say, and so much gratitude I want to express to you all for letting me into your homes and hearts. It’s all because of you that I’ve kept going all these years and each and every one of you have changed me for the better.”

While announcing his decision to exit the Emmy award-winning show, Berk added,

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“It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that season 8 will be my final season on ‘Queer Eye.’ It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one. Although my journey with ‘Queer Eye’ is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.”

Bobby Berk is all set to appear on the fictional series, Strikers, which is in production, according to Variety. Berk is involved in the cricket-oriented comedy as an actor as well as an executive producer.

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