Andy Cohen continues to be the face of Bravo and the Real Housewives franchise, even amid a series of lawsuits and allegations from several current and former cast members
Andy Cohen is certainly aware of pushing boundaries and is never seen in a situation fraught with rigidity without stepping in and poking the bear – or bears. However the prolific Real Housewives producer and See what happens live host has not been cancelled… but.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t think about it a little and even take steps to avoid a fall. That fall, however, and the very idea of this new concept of canceling people, he finds “fascinating.”
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“The idea that you can say something and it can all be taken away from you is fascinating to me,” Cohen said. Vulture in an entirely new piece. The phenomenon has always been part of public life, but it seems to have gained a life (and rhythm) of its own in the age of social media.
However, Cohen shared that he reconsidered an excerpt from his 2012 memoir that he was considering reading at a public event. The passage recounted a prank he played on his parents to convince them he was a Native American.
The point of the story was how a joke can go too far and go from humorous to ingratiating, but he worried that the fine print would get in the way of the intent. “You have to be careful about what you say because there is no more nuance,” he explained. “People are ready to be outraged by every little detail.”
At the same time, the radio and talk show host says he likes to be provocative. “It makes me feel alive in a bizarre way. It’s harmful. It’s spontaneous,” he instructed the outlet. “I feel like it will usually get to the core of who an individual is. If you navigate it well, it can become something incredible and intoxicating.
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Although he consciously pushes the boundaries, Cohen admits that he sometimes worries that he may have overstepped the mark or discussed the mistake. “I’m always prepared for what’s going to make everything fall apart,” he said.
This “reckoning” appeared to be leading his approach following a series of lawsuits earlier this year by former Real Housewives which focused on him, the show’s producers and the Bravo community. Cohen was portrayed as a ringleader in the show’s alleged exploits of his cast and their addictions, as well as allegations that he had a “propensity for cocaine use.”
One of the lawyers leading the charge, Bryan Freedman, told Variety that leaving Cohen in his place at Bravo was reminiscent of pre-MeToo behaviors “when income was prioritized over people.” Parent company NBCUniversal and Cohen’s lawyers have denied all allegations.
Cohen was cleared by an internal investigation and has never stopped his ubiquitous role at the network, leading the franchise’s many reunions and speaking with Bravolebrities and mainstream stars on the network. WWHL every night. The cases are still pending.
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As Bethany Frankelwho made $100 million after promoting his Skinnygirl model, tried to attract reality TV stars – including Housewives — to unionize amid last year’s Hollywood strikes, Cohen referred to his relentless effort, as well as the allegations that began to hit him personally, as a “sustained attack.”
What began as problematic statements such as Ramona Singer problems with Ebony Ok. Williamsturned into precise legal actions, such as those resulting from a Women’s Final Journey recordings went wrong later Brandi Glanville was accused of sexually assaulting a butler, after which Caroline Manzo. Glanville blamed the production for plying her with alcohol, regardless of her habit.
She then turned her frustration over being focused on these attacks back on Cohen, accusing him of harassment for sending her an inappropriate joke video. Cohen said it was a pleasant change at the time, but apologized.
Followers have speculated that Frankel’s turn stems from a controversial December 2022 WWHL see where she was clearly upset about being called out on the show for launching a podcast about the Real Housewives after she “destroyed” the franchise “publicly for the last three years,” according to Cohen.
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Regardless of everything, he remains a staunch defender of Real Housewives franchise as a whole, proudly announcing that “we now put more girls over 50 on TV” and harkening back to Gloria Steinem’s 2015 quote in the WWHL that the present is “girls all dressed up and inflated and cosmetic surgery and fake breasts and never meeting again.”
Cohen sees this common approach as “a lazy trope” and instead sees HR as “a feminist gift,” citing several forward-thinking women who agree. And he respects the women who make up each cast “because they open up their lives in a way that is often very raw, and I think that would be very difficult to do.”
“I don’t know if I have the structure to do this on TV. So the energy of these women to end up sharing that and then opening themselves up to all kinds of conversations is something I like.”
Furthermore, he believes that the longevity and continued reputation of the various series proves that it is greater than the “lazy” critics.
“I think if it was almost a women’s fight, it wouldn’t still be on the air 18 years later and there wouldn’t be ten shows happening,” he argued. “There needs to be humanity and humor, and you should join these girls. And then obviously there’s drama and battle, but there’s so much more.”
See what happens live airs from Sunday to Thursday, while Real Housewives exhibitions are all over Bravo’s programming.