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Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo, Instarimages
Andy Cohen opened up about his long-running Real Housewives franchise during an interview last week.
As he reflected on the debut of the franchise’s first series, The Real Housewives of Orange County, in 2006, and revealed when he realized the idea for the female-based show was a hit, Andy, 56, hit back at recent claims made by Bethenny Frankel, 54, shared if he had any regrets, and fired back at those who’ve blamed editing for their portrayal within the franchise.
“I remember the Washington Post review after the first episode [of RHOC] aired,” Andy recalled during a November 14 interview with Elle. “It said that you could put it in a time capsule and it would be a statement about how the Nouveau Riche in Southern California lived in the year 2006. It’s like a perfect sociological time capsule, the clothes, it’s wild and just how they interacted with each other. They were so non-self conscious.”
After featuring Vicki Gunvalson, 62, Jeana Keough, 69, Lauri Peterson, 64, Jo De La Rosa, 44, and Kimberly Bryant on season one, Andy and his team added Tammy Knickerbocker, 61, to the cast for season two in 2007.
“I was really starting to care about the women in a way that I used to care about people when I watched soap operas and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we did it!’” Andy shared of that moment in time.
The following year, after forming a separate group of New York City-based ladies for a program titled Manhattan Moms, Andy had the idea for the franchise.
“Because of RHOC, we were looking at it and we’re like, ‘Oh my God, this could be the Real Housewives of New York.’ And that made me crazy with excitement. The idea of Jill Zarin, a Jewish mother, being a real housewife where the Orange County women were so blonde and you know, not ethnic. I just loved it,” he explained.
In the years that followed, shows debuted based out of Atlanta, New Jersey, D.C., Beverly Hills, Dallas, Miami, Potomac, Salt Lake City, and Dubai.
While Bravo’s series were once extremely high-rated, they have slowed in recent years, recently prompting a pause of several shows, including Vanderpump Rules, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Winter House, and Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard. There has also been widespread criticism of the network by many, some of whom have accused Andy and the network of getting rich on the ladies who’ve made the network what it is today.
Even feminist Gloria Steinem, 90, shamed the Real Housewives franchise, saying, “It is women – all dressed up and inflated and plastic surgeried and false bosomed… it is a minstrel show for women.”
More recently, Bethenny has sparked a “reality reckoning,” calling for the stars of Bravo to form a union and accusing the network of failing to pay its talent appropriately.
“That’s lazy and untrue. First of all, her included, no one has profited more than the women who star on the show as it should be,” Andy said in response. “And the shows are executive produced or the Real Housewives of New York has had a female executive producer since day one of filming these shows are starring and produced by women. There are men involved. I have somehow become one of the faces of this. And so I think it’s easy to say, ‘Andy made money off of this.’ I did. So did she and everybody else.”
In addition to Bethenny’s allegations, Andy has also been met with lawsuits, accusing him of sexual harassment, drug use, and more. However, Andy was cleared of several claims against him after an outside investigation conducted by Bravo and its parent company, NBCUniversal.
Despite the backlash and challenges, Andy said he has “absolutely no regrets.”
“I have great pride in all of our production partners. We’ve dealt with often really dramatic, sometimes uncomfortable, situations that come about when you follow someone’s real life. Real life is not always, you know, wrapped up in a bow and beautiful, but we take every situation as it comes and I have great pride in the shows,” he declared.
Andy also clapped back at ex-RHONJ cast member Siggy Flicker, 57, who accused the producers of making her look “crazy” after discovering she voted for Donald Trump, 78, in the 2016 presidential election.
“I don’t care who the [housewives] support for president. It’s a reflection of America,” Andy refuted.
Andy went on to say that anyone blaming the producers for a bad edit is using that as a “cop-out.”
“Blaming the editing is the trope for reality shows and I think the truth of the matter is, I don’t really think any of them really do it anymore because they’re usually proven wrong when they do,” he stated.
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