The Big Easy has spelled big trouble for the cast and crew of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” — so much so that the eighth season of the six-time Emmy-winning show was shortened and the panicked Fab 5 threatened to stomp out of New Orleans, never to return.
Filming back-to-back seasons in the summer of 2022, “Queer Eye” was reportedly plagued with Crescent City crime.
(Video: YouTube)
In one instance, a production assistant was reportedly pulled out of a luxury SUV and the production vehicle was carjacked.
It wasn’t the first time would-be thieves tried to steal the show’s cars. On July 2, 2022, two crewmembers were unloading a “Queer Eye” vehicle outside of a field production office. Five men wearing ski masks unsuccessfully attempted to take the car.
“Cast and crew were notified of the unsuccessful carjacking attempt, and production approved 24/7-armed security for the production office that same evening,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “As for the staffers involved, they were offered time off and directed to available resources, including counseling, through the Employee Assistance Program.”
ITV America, which produces the show, hired Tectus Security and Private Investigations the following day “to provide armed security guards at the production office as well as an increased presence at field locations,” the outlet reports.
Just five days later, “the situation escalated.”
THR explains:
During the mid-afternoon, two unknown assailants ran up to a production vehicle (described as “a fully decked out GMC truck,” as regularly seen on the show) and attempted to steal it but were unsuccessful as staff inside locked the doors. The perpetrators then allegedly sprinted to another Queer Eye vehicle nearby, where a production assistant who worked for one of the Fab 5 members was yanked from the vehicle. The men made off with the vehicle and police were called to the scene.
An unarmed black man ripped the assistant from the car, she told police. He and two accomplices got in and drove off.
It turned out that the thugs were teenagers.
According to a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson, locating the SUV in the Seventh District took about an hour. A 17-year-old female was arrested and charged with carjacking. A week later, on July 14, two males — ages 17 and 18 — were also hooked up and charged with identity theft and carjacking.
Understandably, the cast and crew of the show were rattled.
Producers called an “emergency meeting” at production headquarters that included not just the crew but the five stars Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Bobby Berk, and Karamo Brown.
“The carjacking was such a serious thing, and everyone was on high alert,” one source who wished to remain anonymous told THR. “Everyone huddled together, and a showrunner told us what had happened.”
The meeting was “intense,” the source said, because everybody “was really freaked out and upset.”
Encouraged to speak freely, staffers shared “New Orleans horror stories.”
While at a local McDonald’s, two crewmembers were nearly caught in the crossfire when shots rang out. Suspicious people were reportedly seen lurking around parking lots and production headquarters. Security had to run them off.
The hosts expressed “frustration and fear.”
“They pressed producers and questioned the decision to shoot in New Orleans when it was widely known that crime was an issue in the city, particularly vehicle theft,” according to THR.
“Statistics backed up the crew’s concerns,” the outlet states. “New Orleans finished 2022 with the highest murder rate in the United States, with 70 homicides per 100,000 residents. According to the city’s WDSU and statistics from data analyst Jeff Asher, there were 280 homicides, 482 shootings, 279 carjackings and 541 robberies in 2022.”
France, a new father at the time, threatened to walk if security measures weren’t beefed up — not just for the stars, but for the entire staff. He told the producers that a TV show wasn’t worth dying over. His fellow hosts reportedly backed France’s threat.
“The Fab 5 was very much about making sure that their colleagues felt safe,” a source told THR.
Filming was paused for July 8 and 9. Crisis24, a security and crisis management firm, was called in. As a result, 20 off-duty law enforcement officers were brought in to patrol crew hotels and filming locations, the five hosts were assigned a round-the-clock security detail, and within a week of resuming filming on July 10, a full-time security coordinator was placed in the field. Crewmembers were escorted to and from their homes or hotels.
“Due to the collective steps taken,” an ITV America representative told THR, “Queer Eye was able to resume filming safely and without further incident.”
But not everyone was happy about the developments.
“The costs associated with increasing security led producers to trim the episode order from seven to six,” THR reports, “a situation that caused friction among some over lost pay.”
“We got paid a couple of weeks less than we would have. I definitely wanted the paycheck, but at the same time I was relieved to be able to get out of there sooner,” one source said. “But I’ll say that I’ve loved working on Queer Eye. I love our crew, and we have a great team.”
Season nine of the popular series will debut, without Bobby Berk, who has left the show, from a new location: Las Vegas.
Sin City… what could possibly go wrong there?
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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