Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper aren’t sharing any details about their upcoming New Year’s Eve coverage — especially when it comes to alcohol being involved.
“Will you be drinking this year?” Stephen Colbert asked when Cohen, 55, and Cooper 56, appeared on the Thursday, December 21, episode of The Late Show. Cooper replied, “I think you’re going to have to tune in to see.”
Fans were upset during the December 2022 broadcast when CNN announced the duo wouldn’t be drinking during the show. While he complained at the time, Cohen said on Thursday that he “still had a blast” even without the alcohol.
According to Cooper, alcohol doesn’t make a difference when it comes to Cohen’s enthusiasm on air.
“That’s the thing, no [he’s not less embarrassing],” Cooper declared on Thursday. “He asks wildly inappropriate questions.”
Cohen chimed in, adding, “I say what everyone else is thinking.”
When Colbert asked for a hint about the theme for this year’s broadcast, both Cohen and Cooper had hilarious responses.
“Watch Andy say stuff he has to apologize for tomorrow. … Will their friendship make it?” Cohen said. Cooper added, “Watch Anderson question his career choices. … Why did I agree to this?”
Cohen started hosting the CNN New Year’s Eve broadcast alongside Cooper in 2017. Cohen replaced Kathy Griffin, who was fired from the network earlier that year.
The real-life friends managed to make headlines during each NYE special, getting drunk on camera and making some rather colorful comments. Cohen slammed former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio two years in a row and called out Ryan Seacrest’s “group of losers performing” on ABC in 2021.
When it came time for the 2022 broadcast, CNN chairman Chris Licht put his foot down.
“What [Licht] said was that he didn’t want the correspondents out there drinking, but that he wanted Anderson and I to do our thing,” Cohen told The Hollywood Reporter in December 2022. “So, I’m happy to do our thing. My only directive for years on CNN has been to have fun on New Year’s Eve, and that is absolutely what I plan to do.” (Licht left the network earlier this year.)
Last month, Cohen was hopeful that he would “not be sneaking” alcohol this time around.
“I haven’t heard anything yet, but come on, they need to let us drink. It’s New Year’s Eve. That didn’t go well last year in terms of viewer happiness about us drinking. People really cared and I hope CNN gives the people what they want,” Cohen told E! News in November. “Give the daddies some juice.”
Cooper was quick to catch wind of Cohen’s “daddies” comment, which quickly went viral.
“Daddy … I mean, daddy, Anderson. Oh, God,” Cohen said during Thursday’s The Late Show appearance. “Anderson called me during BravoCon, he goes, ‘Did you tell a reporter that CNN needs to give daddies their juice.’ I said, ‘I may have.’”
