Andy Cohen has been cleared of multiple misconduct claims made against him by several Bravo stars– and now those stars are not happy about it!
The network announced on Thursday that claims made by Brandi Glanville and Leah McSweeney earlier this year— including accusations of sexual harassment, substance abuse, playing favorites, overlooking sexually predatory behavior and more– were not found to be backed up by evidence during a third party investigation.
“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,” the network said in a statement to TMZ.
In addition to having his name cleared, Andy also had his show Watch What Happens Live renewed through 2025.
As The Ashley previously reported, Andy was hit by a lawsuit in February filed by former Real Housewives franchise star Leah. In her civil lawsuit (which was also filed against Bravo and Shed Media production company), Leah claimed it was an open secret that Andy– “engages in cocaine use with ‘Housewives’ he employees” and tends to provide those individuals “with more favorable treatment.
“[Andy] intentionally uses cocaine with his employees to further promote a workplace culture that thrives off drug and alcohol use, which leads to a failure to accommodate employees who are disabled and trying to stay substance-free,” Leah stated in the lawsuit.
One week before Leah filed her lawsuit, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi fired off her own accusations against Andy. Brandi accused Andy of sexual harassment after Andy jokingly invited her over FaceTime to watch him have sex with Below Deck star Kate Chastain while he was “obviously inebriated.”
Andy later took to social media to apologize for the incident, calling it an “inappropriate” joke.
Soon after Leah’s accusations against him went public, Andy’s rep gave a statement, proclaiming the accusations to be “completely false.”
After news broke that Andy had been cleared by a team of outside investigators, attorneys for both Leah and Brandi gave statements to Deadline, accusing Bravo of clearing their star just in time for the upcoming network “Upfronts” (aka presentations done by TV networks at certain times of the year to entice advertisers to advertise on the networks’ shows).
“This is perfect timing,” Leah’s lawyer Gary Adelman told Deadline on Thursday. “[They released a] one line [statement] so they can repeat it to all the advertisers at the Up Fronts… How do you have an investigation without speaking to anyone?”
Leah’s attorney also stated that Leah was never interviewed by the outside investigation law firm.
“Our opinion is that no one is going to believe this was a real investigation,” he said.
Brandi’s lawyer Bryan Freedman also spoke out about Andy being cleared in the investigation.
“I am looking forward to reviewing the details of [the] report from the ‘independent’ investigation,” he told Deadline. “Since there was no finding of wrongdoing, there, of course, would be no need to hide or otherwise bury the findings.
“NBC did not speak with the complaining witnesses,” he added. “How is that an investigation?”
While Bravo’s investigation has ended, Leah’s lawsuit against Andy, Bravo and the production company is still pending.
“We look forward to reviewing all of the interviews, evidence and final reports of the investigation that NBCU conducted, when we receive them during the Discovery phase of the lawsuit,” Leah’s attorney stated.
Brandi also made it clear that she was unhappy with the results of the investigation. She took to X to post several statement about Andy and the situation.
“I’m so broken,” she wrote. “I am going to continue to speak my truth because my boys told me to fight. I don’t even get it. Why?”
“FAKE NEWS” she wrote, along with a link to the Deadline story announcing that Andy had been cleared in Bravo’s investigation.
FAKE NEWS! https://t.co/tzjklxynUE
— Brandi Glanville (@BrandiGlanville) May 10, 2024
In a profile in The Hollywood Reporter released this week, Andy addressed the criticism he’s received from some Bravo stars, stating that he finds it “hurtful.”
“Obviously, it’s no fun to be a target,” he said. “But I have no regrets about the way I’ve handled anything. I think everything that happens in your life informs the next thing that happens in your life. That’s the way I look at all this. I know what the truth is and I know how I’ve conducted myself, and I walk tall every day on that.”
(Photos: Bravo; X)
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Didn’t Brandy just get in trouble for “violating” Caroline when she was only “joking” with her. Shouldn’t she be able to take a joke? 😏
Drinking and partying way before on the show.
Clearly anyone who knows what Kate, Andy, and Brandi’s aesthetic is would understand that was a joke. First of all, Andy’s not straight.
Brandi also loves to be controversial in speech and action. That’s her entire brand. Andy and Kate are that way too, bur I’d argue Brandi is worse.