Jeremiah Brent Addresses His 'Queer Eye' New Guy Status, Says He'll 'Earn People's Respect'

Jeremiah Brent is the new kid on the "Queer Eye" block, and he's ready to own it – and "earn people's respect" as the replacement for Bobby Berk, Entertainment Weekly reported.

"With the show, there's a lot of loyalty that comes with that," Brent said in remarks to EW. "People don't know me. People are used to their friend group the way it was, but I'm happy to earn people's respect and I'm happy for them to get to know me and for me to get to know them."

Berk left the show after its eighth season, when the cast's contracts expired and he didn't expect the show to continue on. When "Queer Eye" was renewed, Berk already had other projects lined up and had to pass on Season 9 and beyond.

But, EW noted, his "highly-publicized departure was swept up in a tabloid maelstrom after an exposé alleged tumult on set and tension among the group made up of Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, and Jonathan Van Ness."

Though Berk denied there was anything more to his departure than the way timing and opportunity had played out – and though Tan France spoke out against rumors that he had sought Berk's ouster in order to install Brent – those rumors persisted.

With the advent of the new season, and as viewers now get to see how well Brent fits in, the interior design expert offered his own thoughts, humbly acknowledging that it would be up to viewers to welcome him into their homes and hearts.

"For me, creativity should never be adversarial," Brent mused. "This show was, and still is, about connection."

As for his own connection to Berk, the newcomer said there was none, telling EW that he had not spoken to Berk about taking on the role of interior design maven in the show and telling Andy Cohen during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" that he doesn't know Berk.

"I've never met him," Today reported Brent telling Cohen. "I think we did a panel once together," Brent insisted. "I'm not being shady. We've never met ... Never spoken," he said.

Recalling the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" in his conversation with EW, Brent called the 2003 show, which aired on Bravo for four seasons, "instrumental for a lot of us in the queer community. It was access to friends that most of us didn't have, and a level of toleration and acceptance and awareness and kindness that, at least when I was young and closeted, was super important to me."

The designer also talked about why he wasn't part of the Netflix reboot from the very beginning – though, he said, he'd "spoken with them briefly when they had started things up about coming to do the show, but we had just had our daughter, Poppy, which was another dream completely actualized. And there was just no way that I could pry myself away to do it. The timing wasn't right. And that is my priority to this day."

"But when this opportunity came up, it was just the perfect timing," Brent added, "and I'm already good friends with everybody. I have to tell you, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Indeed, critical response to the new season, and its new addition to the cast, has been positive, with EDGE's Timothy Rawles saying that Brent "make[s] a great addition to the show, mostly because he adds his voice to it.... Brent is more vocal in the edit of this series, whereas Berk seemed reserved."

The Mirror noted that social media reaction was also positive.

"New dude on Queer Eye has me BAWLING," The Mirror quoted one fan posting on X, referring to how funny Brent is.

"Jeremiah appears to be well-received by 'Queer Eye' fans," The Mirror relayed, "which is a good sign being that Jonathan was such a prominent figure on the show and had been for years until he left."

Season 9 of "Queer Eye" premiered Dec. 11 on Netflix. Watch a trailer for the new season below.