Andy Cohen doesn't seem to support the reality star union
"Look, you’re not drafted into the Real Housewives. You either want to be on the show or not," Cohen said
From allegations of favoritism and sexual harassment to Bethenny Frankel’s proposed reality star union, Bravo, the Real Housewives franchise, and specifically Andy Cohen have faced a real reckoning over the past few months. In a lengthy new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cohen has finally spoken out about the whole thing—and he certainly has a lot to say. (Until now, he’s only released brief statements responding to harassment claims from cast members like Brandi Glanville and Leah McSweeney.)
Most pressingly, THR asked Cohen for his thoughts on his old friend Frankel’s unionization efforts (which would, of course, make his job as executive producer on the Housewives franchise that much harder). “I have a lot to say about that. But I need to make clear that I’m speaking as an independent producer. This is not Bravo speaking. This is my take on it,” he began.
“If you look at shows like American Idol, Survivor, The Bachelor or the Below Deck people, 90 percent or more of the reality stars on them are on for one season or less. Also, acting is a full-time profession. You don’t go to school to be a reality star. Reality stars typically have other jobs. They’re bar owners, they’re designers. They’re doctors.” He continued:
I think the way that Bravo pays people is that it’s a buyout—they’re buying them out for a show that can be distributed in certain ways, and the longer you stay on, the higher your salary gets. And salaries for people who have been on a long time are really high. Look, you’re not drafted into the Real Housewives. You either want to be on the show or not, and you either see it as having some greater benefit for you or not. You have a business you’re trying to launch, you have a music career you’re trying to launch, you want exposure. And so you say, “OK, I’m going to look at this for the long game and maybe parlay my exposure on the show into other lucrative opportunities.” And many of them do just that.
Of course, Frankel’s union is about a lot more than pay parity. In a letter written last summer, the former Housewife’s lawyers accused Bravo and its parent company, NBC, of “mentally, physically, and financially victimiz[ing]” its casts, including “deliberate attempts to manufacture mental instability by plying cast members with alcohol while depriving them of food and sleep,” “covering up acts of sexual violence,” and “refusing to allow cast members the freedom to leave their shows, even under dire circumstances.”
Cohen denies almost all of these allegations. “There are many people who never drink. We don’t force anyone to do anything. But no one is secretly hiding liquor bottles on set. That’s ridiculous. We’ve been very supportive of people’s sobriety,” he said when questioned about the claims. “We don’t need to gin up drama!” he added, noting that famed “truth cannon” Margaret Josephs and her compatriots Ramona Singer and Lisa Rinna are just Like That no matter the time of day or number of glasses. Plus, he said, reunions are filmed at 6 a.m.
He also took time to address allegations of pervasive racism from Eboni Williams, the Real Housewives Of New York’s first-ever Black housewife. “I can’t speak to her particular experience, and I’m no longer in charge of programming decisions there, but I’m proud of all the work that Bravo has put into making their shows more representative of the country’s demographics,” he said. “George Floyd was an important cultural shift that forced us to look at all of our programming. Bravo made it a mandate to diversify its shows… They thought, ‘Why are a lot of the shows so segregated?’ They decided that there needed to be more representation across the dial. And they did it.”
In the end, “it’s no fun to be a target. So, yes, it’s hurtful. But I have no regrets about the way I’ve handled anything,” Cohen said. “I’m super proud of what we’ve built and of everybody who’s been a part of it.”