Andy Cohen is firing back at Real Housewives of New York alum Leah McSweeney, who, in a bombshell lawsuit filed against Cohen and Bravo in February, accused the executive producer of using cocaine with the Housewives he’s closest with. McSweeney also accused Cohen and the network of discrimination, promoting a “rotted” workplace culture, and deliberately manufacturing onscreen scenarios that triggered her substance use issues.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Beast from Cohen’s attorneys to McSweeney’s team, his legal reps write that her complaint is “littered with false, offensive, and defamatory statements.”
“While virtually every statement about Mr. Cohen contained in the complaint is false and will be proven so if this baseless lawsuit proceeds, we demand that you immediately retract and withdraw all allegations relating to Mr. Cohen’s purported ‘cocaine use,’ including but not limited to the allegation that Mr. Cohen engages in cocaine use with Housewives and other ‘Bravolebrities’ that he employs,” the letter reads.
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“Mr. Cohen never used cocaine with any cast member on any Real Housewives show or with any other Bravo employee,” the letter continues. “The allegations were obviously made up by you and/or your client to achieve maximum tabloid clickbait value in the hopes of weaponizing these false allegations—along with other lies that permeate the complaint—as leverage to force an unjustified settlement. It will not.”
“We demand that you issue an immediate public retraction and apologize to Mr. Cohen,” his attorneys conclude. “Every day you fail to do so only increases the damages suffered by Mr. Cohen.”
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville and Caroline Manzo of RHONJ have also taken legal action against Bravo and Cohen recently. Glanville accused Cohen of sexual harassment, while Manzo sued Bravo and accused Glanville of sexual assault.
Sarah M. Matz, McSweeney’s attorney, issued a statement in response to Cohen that was provided to The Daily Beast by McSweeney’s publicist.
“That Andy Cohen had his counsel and PR agents write a threatening letter to give to the press is hardly surprising,” Matz said. “Mr. Cohen is accustomed to using his power in the media to scare and intimidate people like Ms. McSweeney so that they will not speak out. Mr. Cohen’s attempt to discredit and intimidate Ms. McSweeney to deter her from engaging in legally protected activity in Court is exactly the type of retaliation that this lawsuit was brought to address and only is further evidence for Ms. McSweeney.”
“We do not intend to litigate this matter in the press, and if Mr. Cohen wants to address Ms. McSweeney’s claims, we suggest he do so in Court, not in a letter for the press,” Matz’s statement concludes.
