The daytime talk show has included many kinds of stories — including queer ones. Karamo aims to tell these LGBTQ stories in an entertaining way but not sensationalize them. Karamo is aware that there is a fine line when doing this.
“I think the first thing that I remind everyone is that like all of our lives, no matter of our sexual or orientation, gender identity, our race, our cultural background — all of our lives are messy,” Karamo told Anthony Allen Ramos in a recent interview. He added that he wants to let all his guests to just be human beings and express their emotions.
“It’s about respect,” he added. “Respect has to be there… if there’s somebody who disrespects my guest because of their sexual orientation, it’s an immediate correction. We don’t allow it to go on. You have to acknowledge it, you have to accept it and then you need to apologize and if they can’t, I’ll end the segment.” Karamo admits this has happened before and he has asked them to walk off the stage. A father refused to call a trans guest by her name and Karamo told them to leave because nothing would be accomplished if they couldn’t even call her by her name. Karamo told Ramos that he makes sure his guests know that he doesn’t put up with that behavior on the show because he wouldn’t put up with it in his own life.
The new season will also include the popular “Unlock the Phone” segment which will definitely add to the mess that Karamo wants to embrace but he also manages to do it with a certain brand of compassion that only he can execute on this show.
“I appreciate being in this space and being Black and queer and being able to bring my identities because it does inform the way that I talk to my guests… like I understand their experiences,” he said of the guests of the sophomore season. “It does inform the empathy and love that I have for my guests.”
“Karamo” airs weekdays, check your local listings.