Andy Cohen might be the center of Bravo’s Real Housewives universe, but a couple franchise alums are not pleased with how he’s responded to Vanity Fair’s recent exposé. Former Real Housewives of New York City stars Bethenny Frankel and Leah McSweeney have spoken out against Cohen for his decision to react to a post “belittling” the article’s revelations with a laughing-crying emoji.
Vanity Fair’s story, published on Monday, outlined allegations of racism against former Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer, which she denied, and also included claims from McSweeney that producers insensitively handled her mental health struggles and alcohol addiction. Singer has since been fired from her real estate job with Douglas Elliman and was reportedly axed from BravoCon’s lineup.
Earlier this week, the Bravo-centric podcast Watch What Crappens posted a meme video in which a news anchor reports on a flood from a canoe as two unfazed civilians walk past her. The video labels the anchor as “Vanity Fair” and the passersby as “Bravo viewers.” The caption reads, “Vanity Fair breaks the news that adults drink and Ramona is racist.”
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Cohen responded to the meme with a laughing-crying emoji, but evidently, Frankel and McSweeney are not amused.
As first reported by Page Six, Frankel aired out her feelings during Thursday’s episode of her podcast, ReWives with Bethenny Frankel.
“So Andy Cohen today did a laughing emoji on the Watch What Crappens post, which was belittling the alcohol discussion and the racism discussion,” Frankel said on the podcast. “Which is really shocking, honestly—shocking. Especially right now, I think he probably just thinks he’s invincible.”
Frankel added: “Riddle me this—Andy Cohen is laughing at something regarding racism. Why would he not be asked to leave BravoCon if Ramona texted something to someone? ... It’s 50 shades of bullshit, is what it actually is, across the board.”
As Frankel noted during her podcast, McSweeney also reacted to Cohen’s response on her Instagram Story. “Wow,” McSweeney wrote, per Page Six. “Andy thinks racism and addiction is hilarious. Good to know.”
Cohen has not publicly responded to Frankel’s comments about him, but with BravoCon kicking off this weekend, fans will certainly be waiting with bated breath to see if he does.
