Karamo Brown made waves in reality TV back in the early ’00s when he became the first openly gay Black man to star as a cast member on “The Real World.” Now, more than a decade later, the landscape of TV has changed considerably and includes more LGBT actors and characters than ever. After paving the way for LGBT people in reality TV, Brown is back where he started with the new TV One series “The Next :15” and he recently explained what it’s like to jump back into the scene as an openly gay man.
In the new interview with Queerty.com, Brown explains that he decided to join the cast of the show thanks to his friendship with producer Carlos King, who promised him an opportunity to be on a talk show as part of the reality series.
“One hundred percent the talk show aspect, but also I trust Carlos King. Being an openly gay Black man, unfortunately I’ve had experiences working with individuals who’ve tried to exploit my blackness or my gayness in a way that doesn’t make me feel comfortable, or they try to manipulate me into being a caricature of myself,” Brown said.
Brown also spoke about the eldest of his two sons appearing on the series with him.
“It’s a large part. They’re following our lives. Outside of being a television host, the most important thing to me is being a father, and you see the ups and downs of me and my child — only one of my sons is being featured, my eldest son — and you see the ups and downs of raising a teenage boy and what it is for him to have a gay father, and you see me trying to guide him and to say ‘real talk, we unfortunately still live in a place where people will try to devalue you as a Black man and also will judge you because your father is gay, and you have to be equipped to handle that negativity that’s gonna come your way,” Brown said.
But that’s not all that he talked about. Read what he had to say about the state of Black gay men on TV after the cut.
