Karamo Brown seemingly confirms Jussie Smollett romance after PDA-filled outing in LA
Karamo Brown seemingly confirmed he’s dating Jussie Smollett after the two were snapped looking close in Los Angeles.
The “Queer Eye” alum appeared on the “Reality With The King” podcast Tuesday, and while he didn’t name Smollett, he confirmed he was dating a famous Black man and said that he wasn’t coy about it in public.
“I am dating a celebrity,” Brown said. “It’s not like we’re hiding it. We go out. We hold hands everywhere.”
In pics obtained by TMZ, Brown, 45, and Smollett, 44, were snapped being affectionate with one another as they ran errands together Monday. At one point, the “Empire” actor touched Brown’s chin. The outlet reported the two are dating.
Page Six reached out to Brown and Smollett’s reps for comment, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
During the podcast, host Carlos King said he was “gagged” when he found out who Brown was dating, but said that the couple was “beautiful” and “makes sense” to him.
Brown got emotional and said he knew his current partner was the One.
“I’m 100 percent sure. I’ve met my equal,” he shared. “And it is powerful when you meet someone who you feel 100 percent safe with, you feel 100 percent secure with, who you can just trust with your heart because you know they are a great human being and they get everything.”
He added, “You know, it’s special. It’s pretty amazing.”
The former television host said he and his boyfriend were “deep in love” but haven’t taken their relationship public yet because they don’t want “comments.”
“We are protecting the love we have because I do believe this is going to be my husband,” he said. “I believe this is going to be my forever person.”
He insisted the two never argue.
“Everything is just easy, we just get each other,” he noted. “It’s constant laughter, it’s constant love, it’s just constant everything.”
Brown was spotted supporting Smollett’s performance at Harlem Pride’s “17 Shades of Pride” celebration over the weekend by fans on social media. The “Real World: Philadelphia” star also publicly defended Smollett after 50 Cent mocked the performance on Instagram, sharing a clip of it and roasting the actor in the caption.
50 Cent wrote, “See I told you ‘POWER’ was the s–t, but No you want to watch ‘Empire.’ Now look this its all your fault. LOL.
“Power” is the Starz show the rapper was an executive producer on that competed with Fox’s “Empire.”
Brown commented on 50 Cent’s post, “I was at this PRIDE event and Jussie killed it. F–k off for using one clip from the entire 30 min show to try bring someone down!”
Smollett has been attempting to make a comeback after he was accused of orchestrating a hate crime hoax in 2019 to boost his career. Although he was found guilty in December 2021, the conviction was overturned in November 2024.
The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the decision due to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx initially dropping all charges against him before the special prosecutor decided to retry him, Page Six confirmed.
This choice violated his rights, the high court ruled.
