Karamo Brown from Queer Eye Opens Up About His Plastic Surgery Mishap

Queer Eye star Karamo Brown has revealed a troubling plastic surgery experience that has left him in ongoing discomfort.

In an article published on Tuesday, June 2, Brown, 45, shared with People that a buccal fat removal surgery in 2021 resulted in scar tissue that obstructed saliva drainage in his cheeks.

“For years, people have said, ‘Karamo’s had plastic surgery. He has so much filler in his face,’” the reality television personality recounted. “I felt I couldn’t respond to the trolls. But I endured years of pain, and no one knew.”

Brown explained that as saliva accumulated in his cheeks, the scar tissue would become rigid. “Sometimes when I smiled, it felt tight,” he noted. “My cheeks would swell because they were filled with saliva and scar tissue. I was in immense pain.”

Having joined the Netflix reboot of Queer Eye in 2018, he mentioned he opted for the procedure after “gaining about 70 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Reflecting on that time, he said, “I was a big boy, and everyone online loved to remind me of that. So I thought, ‘If I slim my face, maybe I’ll look better.’ It turned into a year-and-a-half of agony.”

Brown, known from MTV’s Real World, added that his pain worsened following the debut of his daytime talk show, The Karamo Show, in 2022, which was canceled in March after four seasons.

“I would film six episodes a day, and there were moments when my mouth became extremely dry and swollen,” he recalled, affirming that he dropped 70 pounds to hide the bulging scar tissue. “The more weight I lost, the less noticeable the scar tissue became,” he explained. “The scar tissue and swelling were still present, but being thinner made it look somewhat normal. I even stopped eating to alleviate the discomfort from the scar tissue.”

Recently, Brown “underwent a procedure to repair his saliva glands,” successfully removing the scar tissue from his cheeks.

Additionally, Brown’s year has been tumultuous. In February, his ex Carlos Medel confirmed their breakup through an Instagram post. “Even though I’m single this year, I want to keep love all around! Huge thanks to my friends and family for being in my life this past year!” Medel wrote, following their romance which began in 2021.

In his interview with People, Brown also discussed his time filming Queer Eye with his Fab Five co-stars, revealing divisions among them after a sexual harassment complaint against him was filed. (The final season, season 10, premiered on January 21, and Brown did not promote the season before its release.)

Brown characterized the Queer Eye set as a workplace with reported poor conduct. “People would just say, ‘Well, that’s just that person,’ instead of addressing, ‘This behavior is unacceptable in a professional setting,’” he claimed. “It consistently affected me negatively.”

He also stated that he was cleared of any misconduct behind the scenes of Queer Eye.