Brad Goreski is telling “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fans to “lighten up” after episodes of the long-running show have been cut down to make room for his new reality series, “The Real Friends of WeHo.”
“It’s a new show with a bunch of funny guys who are sharing their lives with you as it rolls out. Like, it’s winter,” the TV personality, 45, says on Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
“Turn on MTV, plop yourself down, watch ‘Drag Race,’ watch us, watch ‘Untucked’ and have a fun Friday night and chill out.”
Acolytes of “Drag Race” — which moved to MTV this year after six seasons on VH1 and eight on Logo — are understandably incensed that minutes have been shaved off the original drag queen competition series because of “The Real Friends of WeHo.” (Episodes, which once spanned 90 minutes with commercial breaks, are now 60 minutes.)
However, viewers are arguably more upset that “WeHo’s” 9 p.m. airtime forces them to wait an hour to watch the beloved “Drag Race” after-show, “Untucked.”
“My message to them is, I don’t work at the network. I don’t have anything to do with the nuts and bolts,” Goreski tells us. “Anything past when we stopped filming, which was early December, I don’t have anything to do with anything.”
The celebrity stylist adds, “I didn’t even know it was going to end up on MTV. So, like, I’m not a network exec. I’m talent!”
“The Real Friends of WeHo” also stars TV host Jaymes Vaughan, actor Curtis Hamilton, influencer Joey Zauzig, Buttah Skincare CEO Dorión Renaud and entertainer Todrick Hall, each of whom are part of Los Angeles’ vibrant gay community.
The series has notably received heat for casting Hall, 37, who has navigated a succession of headline-grabbing controversies over the last several years.
In last week’s “WeHo” premiere, the “Attention” singer addressed allegations that he doesn’t pay his dancers or his rent and defended the cutthroat game he played on “Celebrity Big Brother” Season 3 that tarnished his reputation.
Goreski tells Page Six that pals “warned” him not to closely associate with Hall, but was pleasantly surprised once he got to know the “American Idol” alum throughout filming.
“Every person that I talked to about the show, the word everybody would say was ‘messy,’” he recalls. “‘Todrick gets messy.’”
Goreski acknowledges that he didn’t know Hall before production began, but “had seen and heard things.” Still, any polarizing stories and opinions about the latter didn’t deter their ensuing friendship.
“And I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to go into this and like, give him the benefit of the doubt. And if he proves to me that he’s messy, then I’ll say that he was messy,’” Goreski elaborates. “But, you know, it’s been so nice actually getting to know him.”
“The Real Friends of WeHo” airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.