Andy Cohen Defended by Housewives Amid Allegations of Drugs, Mistreatment in Workplace
Amid allegations against him from former Real Housewives stars Leah McSweeney and Brandi Glanville, Andy Cohen is getting glowing testimonials from other Housewives.
“[Cohen] has always been genuinely fair, loving, considerate, and always the consummate professional,” The Real Housewives of Miami’s Marysol Patton wrote on Instagram on Friday.
In comments on Patton’s post, RHOM co-star Alexia Nepola and Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Dolores Catania and Margaret Josephs echoed her sentiments, per Deadline.
That same day, RHOM star Lisa Hochstein posted similar thoughts on Instagram. “[Cohen] has always been a standup man to me, my family, and my entire RHOM cast,” she wrote.
In a recent Instagram Stories update, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Crystal Kung Minkoff wrote that Cohen “[has] always been incredibly kind, respectful and supportive,” per Deadline.
And in her Instagram Stories, Real Housewives of New York City star Erin Lichy sang the executive producer’s praises. “I wouldn’t feel right not saying publicly that I love this human,” she wrote, per Deadline. “He is one of the good ones. It breaks my heart to see all this garbage. Don’t believe everything you read. Love you, Andy.”
The testimonials come after McSweeney filed suit against Cohen, Bravo, NBCUniversal, production house Shed Media US, and producers John Paparazzo, Lisa Shannon, and Darren Ward on Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In that suit, McSweeney accused producers of coercing and coaxing her into drinking alcohol during the filming of two RHONY seasons and one spinoff season — despite being aware of her alcohol issues and mental health struggles — and accused Cohen of drug-related favoritism, THR reports.
In an excerpt published online by THR, McSweeney’s suit alleges that Cohen “engaged in cocaine use with ‘Housewives’ and other Bravolebrities that he employs” and rewards the Housewives with whom he allegedly does cocaine “with more favorable treatment and edits.”
A representative for Cohen told THR the claims against him in McSweeney’s suit “are completely false.”
An NBCUniversal spokesperson told Page Six that the company is “conducting an investigation,” while a Bravo spokesperson told the outlet that the company has been working with third-party production companies for several years “to enhance our protocols including stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption, direction on when to intervene to maintain the safety of cast and crew, increased psychological support, enhanced workplace trainings, more serious consequences for physical violence on set, and a requirement to provide cast and crew with a direct line to NBCUniversal to raise concerns.”
The Bravo spokesperson also said that “a number of claims that Leah McSweeney made were previously investigated and unsubstantiated.”
Cohen got more bad press in February when lawyers for Glanville — a RHOBH alum — accused him of sexual harassment in a letter to NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., and Shed Media. “In a video sent by Mr. Cohen to Ms. Glanville in 2022, Mr. Cohen — appearing obviously inebriated — boasted of his intention to sleep with another Bravo star that night while thinking of her and invited her to watch via FaceTime,” the letter alleged, per People.
Cohen later apologized on X, writing, “The video shows Kate Chastain and I very clearly joking to Brandi. It was absolutely meant in jest, and Brandi’s response clearly communicated she was in on the joke. That said, it was totally inappropriate, and I apologize.”
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