Kelly Ripa is defending longtime friend Andy Cohen after he was accused of doing cocaine with Bravo stars in a bombshell lawsuit filed by Real Housewives of New York alum Leah McSweeney.
The daytime talk show host, 53, sat down with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards on the Wednesday, March 27, episode of her “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast, where they discussed McSweeney’s allegations. In the suit, which was filed on February 27, the RHONY alum also claimed that Cohen, 55, created “toxicity” in the workplace and “played favorites” amongst those who party with him.
“I know him, like, off-camera. I know him privately. We’ve traveled together. We’ve gone on vacation together, like, pre-him having kids, you know?” said Ripa. “I’ve never seen a drug around him. It’s like the most… I’m so offended by it. I’m so angry over it.”
Noting that she has “only seen him be professional” and has “certainly never seen drugs around – or any of this,” Richards, 55, added, “It made me angry and it made me really sad because I feel like that’s the time that we’re living in right now. It’s very dangerous to make accusations like that. It’s not like it used to be. Right? So it really made me sad.”
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In addition to McSweeney’s claims about drugs, toxic workplace culture and favoritism, the former reality personality alleged that she was “pressured” to drink alcohol despite telling producers she was working on maintaining her sobriety throughout the three seasons she filmed.
She also claimed that “producers retaliated against her when she wanted to stay sober, and intentionally failed to provide reasonable accommodations that would aid her efforts to stay sober and able to perform.”
Cohen’s rep fired back at McSweeney’s allegations the day after the suit was filed, telling The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, “The claims against Andy are completely false.”
Like Richards and Ripa, other stars came to Cohen’s defense amid the allegations.
“Been around Andy many many times and have NEVER been offered anything but good hospitality,” Real Housewives of Miami star Guerdy Abraira wrote in the comments section of a February 28 Instagram post shared by Page Six.
Luann de Lesseps, whose sobriety journey was captured by Bravo cameras, said she cannot agree with any allegation about being “forced to drink.”
“I can only say my experience. Part of the Housewives is parties, and of course, there’s drinking involved, but it’s not like someone forced her to drink,” the RHONY alum told TMZ on February 28. “You can’t force someone to drink something. You have to be the person who picks up the drink.”
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She added, “I’ve known Andy for years, and it’s not in his character, and I’ve never, ever seen in the years that I’ve been doing Housewives any drug abuse.”
In response to Bravo stars’ support for Cohen, McSweeney’s lawyer Gary Adelman told Us Weekly in a statement, “There are more lawsuits coming and there are more people who are going to speak out. It doesn’t matter what people say or think — that Andy’s a good guy, or that you should expect to drink, or that you should expect this behavior.”
He concluded: “What’s going to matter is what the law thinks of it. And we believe the law thinks this is wrong.”
