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Bravo and Andy Cohen are at the center of yet another legal battle. This time, Real Housewives of New York alum Leah McSweeney has filed a lawsuit against Andy and the network, but why are they being sued?
Why Did Leah McSweeney Sue Andy Cohen and Bravo?
In her February 27, 2024, filing, Leah claimed that Bravo producers encouraged alcohol abuse despite knowing of her ”alcohol use disorder” during her time on the show. The mom of one also alleged that producers of RHONY “intentionally plann[ed] scenarios intended to exacerbate [her] disabilities” in an effort to “create morbidly salacious reality television.”
Leah added that “the defendants failed to maintain a safe working environment and accommodate her disabilities, including ‘alcohol use disorder’ and ‘mental health disorders,’” according to documents obtained by People.
The suit, which included NBC Universal, Discovery, Warner Bros. and Shed Media, claimed that they “colluded with her colleagues to pressure Ms. McSweeney to drink, 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.”
Leah said that she admitted to producers that she had broken her nine years of sobriety, but said that she was sober again by the time she made her debut on Real Housewives of New York season 12.
What Did Leah McSweeney’s Lawsuit Claim About Andy Cohen?
As for Andy, Leah’s lawsuit claimed that the Watch What Happens Live! host “engages in cocaine use with Housewives and other ‘Bravolebrities’ that he employs,” and has a “proclivity for cocaine usage with his employees.”
“Cohen tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment and edits,” the former reality TV star added. “Cohen intentionally uses cocaine with his employees to further promote a workplace culture that thrives off drug and alcohol abuse, which leads to a failure to accommodate employees who are disabled and attempting to remain substance free.”
Leah’s filing continued, “Cohen’s preferred workplace environment, which is fueled with substances and illicit behavior, permeates every aspect of Defendant Bravo productions.”
The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip alum also took things a step further when she posted her own statement on her personal Instagram page.
“Your favorite Bravo shows are run by people who create a dangerous work environment, encourage substance abuse to artificially create drama and cynically prey on the vulnerabilities of their employees,” Leah wrote on February 27, 2024. “I may be a pariah to them after this, but I do hope my lawsuit helps reality TV to align with its true purpose: to authentically depict the complexities of life while offering genuine support to those who share their stories.”
Has Andy Cohen or Bravo Responded to Leah McSweeney’s Claims?
After news of Leah’s lawsuit surfaced, Andy’s rep spoke to Deadline and refuted all of the claims.
“The claims against Andy are completely false!” the rep told Deadline on February 27, 2024.
On March 7, 2024, Page Six reported that Andy’s lawyers had sent a letter to Leah’s attorneys further dismissing the claims and said that the former RHONY star’s allegations were “littered with false, offensive, and defamatory statements.”
“Mr. Cohen never used cocaine with any cast member on any ‘Real Housewives’ show or with any other Bravo employee,” the letter continued. “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. Instead, this conduct only subjects you and your client to independent and substantial legal exposure.”
Andy’s attorneys also accused Leah of “inventing the false allegations in the first place — to create a media frenzy and pressure in an attempt to force a settlement.”
However, Leah’s legal team was quick to respond.
“That Andy Cohen had his counsel and PR agents write a threatening letter to give to the press is hardly surprising. 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,” Leah’s lawyer Sarah M. Matz told Page Six. “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.”
No representative for Bravo had addressed the matter at the time of publication.
Leah McSweeney Addressed Her Lawsuit Against Bravo and Andy Cohen
Leah broke her silence regarding her lawsuit against Andy and Bravo during an appearance on the “Addiction Talk” podcast.
“As hard as it is to be going up against a very powerful entity, and for people to maybe also just not agree with me or you know, come at me and get blowback and all the things, I don’t care, because this is the truth, you know?” Leah told host Joey Sutton on March 21, 2024. “My intentions are really good. And I check myself all the time about that.”
Regardless of the ongoing legal drama, Leah added that she was doing “great,” but that the situation is still painful.
“Even when you’re in a really good place, it still hurts. It’s still not an enjoyable experience to have people coming at you, or be dealing with the situation that I’m in,” Leah admitted.
Andy Cohen Was Cleared in the Leah McSweeney Investigation
Andy was cleared of allegations in Leah’s lawsuit, along with those made in RHOBH alum Brandi Glanville’s lawsuit on May 9, 2024, according to Page Six.
“The outside investigation into the recent allegations made by Brandi Glanville and Leah McSweeney against Andy Cohen has now been completed, and the claims were found to be unsubstantiated,” a Bravo spokesperson told the outlet.
Andy Cohen’s Lawyers Argued to Toss Leah McSweeney’s Lawsuit in Court Hearing
Attorneys representing Andy, Bravo and NBCUniversal argued in a New York courtroom on November 14, 2024, that Leah’s suit should be tossed, Page Six reported. The lawyers claimed that RHONY’s producers were protected by the Freedom of Speech in the U.S. Constitution.
“Attorney Adam Levin of Mitchell, Silberberg, Knupp argued in Manhattan Supreme Court that interactions between McSweeney and the producers — even those off-camera — were all part of their attempts to ‘craft a message’ to the viewers, and are therefore protected by the First Amendment,” the outlet’s report read.
Judge Lewis J. Liman reportedly asked if there were limits on the producers, such as whether or not they could “beat” a cast member off camera as long as they intended to have the person behave a certain way on camera later. Levin said there were exceptions, according to Page Six.
Leah’s lawyer, Sarah Matz of Adelman Matz, argued that “courts have never said that the limits on free speech stopped at crime.”
“You are not allowed to breach people’s rights simply because you’re pointing a camera at them,” she said, according to the outlet. “There is a difference between ’crafting a message’ and making a show that you think people will watch.”
Leah was reportedly present at the hearing, but Andy was not.
The judge, who said he had never seen RHONY, did not immediately make a ruling.
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