In case you didn't know, Karamo and Nay go way back. You can try not to blush at the admiration they have for one another, but you’d be hard pressed.
As sweet as this flirty-ass friendship may be, the constant dynamic between them while they reminisce is also full of support and honesty. Nay relays one of these moments from years ago when Karamo gave her a piece of advice that shook her and changed her perspective on relationships.
Nay: “I’m like why is this happening to me? And the reframe I would give it now at this age is like, yeah, why? Why was I putting up with that?”
After working together more than a decade ago, Nay and Karamo discuss shifts in our community’s awareness of intersectionality and the racism that is still present but was more accepted at the time.
Karamo: “People forget like just 12 years back even how much more was segregated, even more how like, the rampant racism from white gays was, just like we're gonna do it openly and tell you we don't give a damn.”
They both found a safe haven in each other and in community to navigate these difficult spaces and Karamo credits the group they were a part of as being the only safe space he had at the time.
Karamo: “I'm just so thankful for that space because I wonder without that space, how that place would've crushed my self-esteem, would've crushed any of us.”
From working closely with queer youth, to finding a support system at work, to becoming a safe space for so many others himself, Karamo has always put mental health front and center. Before it was cool, before it was a buzzword, and certainly before anyone was thinking about caring for the QTBIPOC community in this way, the TV host says he knew it was imperative to prioritize and strengthen his mind.
“It's important to focus on it. You can try to avoid your mental health all you want, but it will show up in your life. You have not focused on it in so many different ways. It will show up in, in your health. It will show up in your interactions with people. It will just show up. And I need us to be better.
I need us to be better, especially as, as part of our community.”
Because Karamo frequently utilizes his openness to empower others, many people already know him as vulnerable, honest and an incredible purveyor of advice on both his talk show Karamo and all seven seasons of Netflix’s Queer Eye. But Nay’s favorite side of Karamo? Karamo the father. They discuss his journey raising his son and the impact you can have as a parent when you empower your children to find a path that works for them, even if it doesn’t look like what you expected.
“Just because your journey doesn’t look like someone else’s does not mean your journey is not going to be great.”
While Nay celebrates the diligent work, dedication and subsequent success that Karamo has had since she worked with him 15 years ago, Karamo points this success back to others. Karamo credits the support system that Nay provided him in caring for his son, Jason, while Karamo was sneaking off to auditions; and also acknowledges his best friend Tre for being the person that showed him he could be himself.
“The first time I saw him, I was like, that is who I have to be. I was like, that is what I must be. I must be confident. I must be smart. I must be kind. I must be well dressed. And I literally ran up to him and said, will you be my gay daddy?”
Karamo talks about Tre’s influence on him to be a confident person and to use that confidence not only for yourself in your own life but to impact the ability of others to be more secure. All too often we look to media or celebrities to find a point of inspiration or affirmation, or rely on ultra-independence to feel strong, but Karamo reminds us that our power comes from leaning on one another.
“I think that sometimes in this community, we forget that the greatest asset we have is the support we give to each other.”
Emmy winner, actor, and author Karamo Brown is the host of his own nationally syndicated daytime talk show entitled Karamo and is well-known as the Culture Expert on Netflix’s international, six-time, Emmy-winning series Queer Eye.
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