Philly Old Navy Accused Using White Workers For 'Queer Eye' Shoot

PHILADELPHIA — Accusations of racism are surrounding the Center City Philadelphia Old Navy location, with workers of color saying there were hidden during filming of Netflix's hit show "Queer Eye."

Old Navy employee Monae Alvarado said as the program was coming to film at the store for its upcoming season, she and other employees who are people of color were forced to stand in the back of the store.

While that alone may not be a show of racism, Alvarado claims white workers from stores in West Chester, Mount Pocono, and New Jersey were brought in to be in the shots.

Alvarado said she and her coworkers worked overnight before the Aug. 21 shoot to make the store look nice.

Her story was covered by Philadelphia Magazine, and has now gained national attention.

According to Newsweek, Netflix and the "Queer Eye" team had no knowledge of the alleged "whitewashing."

"Queer Eye's hosts, producers and crew had no knowledge or influence on Old Navy staffing choices while filming in a Philadelphia-based store this past week," a Netflix statement to Newsweek said. "While filming, production featured one female employee, an African American manager, who completed an on-camera styling consultation and also served as a point of contact for our crew."

Old Navy issued a statement regarding the accusations, saying they would " never select employees to participate – or not – based on race" and called the allegations of whitewashing "completely inaccurate."

"We were proud to work with The Queer Eye show to film at our store in Philadelphia and to feature our local store manager on camera," the statement reads. "We also worked with additional employees in the area to help ensure the store ran seamlessly for customers, as the location was open for business during filming, and we expect they may appear in background shots. These individuals are reflective of our diverse employee population."