Bobby Berk Admits Losing Money on Queer Eye Despite Netflix Fame
So it appears Netflix’s million-view makeover series came with a subplot no one signed up for—Bobby Berk’s bank account in free fall. The 43-year-old interior designer revealed on the June 25 edition of the Networth & Chill podcast (as reported by E! Online) that seasons one and two of Queer Eye paid him “basically nothing.” In other words, he traded literal gold bricks in his own design firm for participation trophies in the streaming world. The consequence? Five months on set plus nonstop press tours translated into a half-year absence from his business, wiping out the profits he might have netted from private clients. Assigning zero dollars as compensation for bootcamp designers sounds like a clever accounting trick—until you realize it’s just clever bookkeeping for Netflix.
By season three and four, Berk managed to scrape back to “breaking even,” pocketing a single-digit backend percentage. Which, in the startup world, would get you laughed out of the pitch room. Facing a fiscal famine, he threw himself at brand partnerships—endorsing everything from scented candles to artisanal snacks—to pay his bills. Fans griped about the constant product plugs, likening their screens to infomercial reruns, but Bobby was quick to remind them, “We don’t make money off the show—this is how we afford to keep doing it.” It’s the ultimate cosmic joke: your most famous gig becomes your poorest paid one, and the only bailout is sponsored shampoo.
Despite the early pay-palace farce, Berk says the exposure was priceless. He attributes his subsequent design empire expansion to the show’s “lightning in a bottle” effect, which he admits comes with a hefty cleanup bill. This blunt admission—aired on Networth & Chill and picked up by E! Online—underscores a universal truth in Hollywood: fame doesn’t guarantee fortune. From reality stars to cooking competitors, countless talents discover that a spotlight can blind your wallet. Berk’s candid take slices through the Instagram filter of celebrity, showing that even the Fab Five can flip their dreams for pennies on the dollar.
In the end, Bobby Berk’s Queer Eye journey was less Cinderella story and more financial cautionary tale. But don’t worry—he’s already turned his sponsored-post hustle into a thriving design brand, proving that sometimes the real makeover happens in your business bank statement. Tune in next time for more tales of how chasing clout can cost you cash, with zero refunds on table scraps of fame. Well, there you have it—humanity at its finest.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Networth & Chill podcast
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
