Apr 19
Andy Cohen, Bravo Quash Rumors of Cohen's Departure: 'Absolutely No Truth' to Reports
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Andy Cohen and Bravo shot down a report that claimed the "Watch What Happens Live" host was "negotiating a departure package" with the network.
"There is absolutely no truth to this story," a spokesperson for Bravo told Deadline."
A similar comment was provided to People Magazine by the network. People noted that Cohen "told PEOPLE at BravoCon 2023 in November that he wasn't looking to exit Bravo anytime soon," and quoted him as saying at the time that 2024 would mark his "20th year at Bravo," as well as his "15th year of 'Watch What Happens Live.'"
"I'll stay as long as Bravo wants me," Cohen added, "as I once said to a very long running housewife being on TV is a gift, it is not a right."
A report at In Touch claimed that Cohen was headed for the exit in the midst of "swirling controversy and falling ratings," and cited a source who was quoted as saying, "Negotiations for Cohen's departure package are underway as he grapples with the fallout from mounting accusations by his stars."
That claim seemingly referred to two recent headline-grabbing developments involving Cohen and "Real Housewives" stars Brandi Glanville and Leah McSweeney.
Glanville accused Cohen of sexual harassment, claiming that the "Real Housewives" producer subjected her to a salacious video message in which he drunkenly told Glanville of "his intention to sleep with another Bravo star that night while thinking of her and invited her to watch via Facetime."
Cohen responded by saying that the message, which also included Kate Chastain of "Below Deck," was "meant in jest," and said that Glanville was "in on the joke."
Shortly after Glanville's claims, McSweeney, a "Real Housewives of New York City" cast member, made allegations of her own in a lawsuit that claimed Cohen "engages in cocaine use with Housewives and other 'Bravolebrities,'" and charged that "Cohen tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment and edits."
McSweeney's suit, which also named Bravo Media, NBC Universal Media, and other producers, among others, made accusations of a "rotted" workplace in which producers "intentionally plann[ed] scenarios intended to exacerbate" McSweeney's substance and mental health issues in order to "create morbidly salacious reality television..."
Cohen's camp categorically denied the accusations, with a rep telling Deadline, "the claims against Andy are completely false!"
Bravo's slate of "Real Housewives" programming seems unlikely to slow down any time soon. Moreover, "Cohen's 'Watch What Happens Live' has been on air for 15 years, recording more than 2,500 episodes," Deadline noted. "The series is expected to be picked up for further seasons."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
