Andy Cohen denies Leah McSweeney’s claims
Andy Cohen has rejected the claims against him Real Housewives of New York City alum By Leah McSweeney court case.
“The allegations against Andy are completely false,” a representative for the 55-year-old Cohen said The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, February 28.
This is evident from court documents obtained by THRMcSweeney named Bravo, NBC/Universal, production house Shed Media U and producers Johannes Paparazzo, Lisa Shannon And Darren Ward in her application dated Tuesday, February 27. In the lawsuit, the reality star claims the network deliberately played a role in her battle with alcoholism. The lawsuit also targets Cohen, accusing him of being a favorite of those who party with him.
“[Cohen] engaged in cocaine use with “housewives” and other Bravolebrities he employs” and “rewards housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment and edits,” the documents said, according to the newspaper.
In the lawsuit, McSweeney says Bravo had a “rotten workplace culture that was uniquely dependent on pressuring its employees to consume alcohol.” She claims that she told producers before her first season that she had been sober for 30 days and was working to maintain her sobriety, but that she was pressured to drink all three seasons she appeared on the show and claims that producers “took revenge on her when she wanted to.” maintain sobriety, and willfully failed to provide reasonable accommodations that would assist her in maintaining sobriety and performance.
While filming abroad in Thailand, McSweeney claims her rights were violated when she was not allowed to seek care for her addiction problems and was denied proper transportation to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings during filming after she was told that participating would be ‘no problem’. She also claims she was mentally manipulated to get better ratings.
McSweeney joined the RHONY released in 2019 for two seasons, followed by Peacock’s third season of The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Tripwhich was filmed in 2022 and aired a year later.
On Tuesday, Bravolebrity opened up about the lawsuit on social media, calling it a “story” she never thought she would tell.
“I was actually terrified to speak about it and was warned not to,” she wrote via Instagram hours after the charges were filed. “Your favorite Bravo shows are run by people who create a dangerous work environment, encourage substance abuse to create artificial drama, and cynically prey on the vulnerabilities of their employees.”
She continues: “Much more will emerge when those involved are questioned under oath. Today I take back my reality. The reckless and diabolical way in which the people at the top drool over the misfortunes and misfortunes of the women, myself included, is disturbing. It is a workplace culture where toxicity, alcoholism and pain are not only expected, but encouraged and facilitated. That is something I absolutely did not sign up for and would never endorse.”
McSweeney noted that there is “nothing more important” than her sobriety, adding that without it she would “lose everything.”
“I have been very transparent about my addiction and recovery,” she continued. “However, there are personal things in the trial that I have never wanted to reveal for fear of being judged and shamed, but I am now at a point in my life where I feel strong enough to withstand whatever comes my way comes.”
McSweeney’s trial comes a week later Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Brandi Glanville made sexual harassment claims against Cohen. Glanville’s legal team sent a letter to NBCUniversal, Shed Media and Shed’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, in which they alleged that Cohen told Glanville he wanted to “sleep with another Bravo star” while he was “thinking” about her.
According to the note, Cohen invited Glanville to watch him have sex via FaceTime. The letter also claimed that Glanville felt “trapped” and “disgusted” by Cohen’s “abuse of power” as he was her “boss” at the time. (Glanville appeared in seasons 3 through 5 of RHOBH as the lead and as a guest star in seasons 6, 9 and 10. She returned for seasons 2 and 5 of UGT in 2022 and 2024.)
Cohen then responded to Glanville’s claims, claiming that he and Below deck star Kate Chastain were “joking” when they sent the video in question.
“It was definitely meant as a joke, and it was clear from Brandi’s reaction that she was in on the joke,” he wrote via X on February 22. “That said, it was completely inappropriate and I apologize.”