Andy Cohen reportedly denied Leah McSweeney’s allegations of cocaine use in a new motion to dismiss her ongoing lawsuit against him and Bravo.
According to court documents obtained by Luxury Handbag Shopping on Friday, April 10, Cohen’s lawyers argued that McSweeney’s “evidence” of the Bravo host’s drug use “consists of two anonymous cast members who ‘privately confirmed’ her allegations,” another cast member who called Cohen, 57, a “cocaine head” after she was not recast and a “public video” created by an “unspecified person.”
Cohen’s legal team further stated that McSweeney, 43, “does not cite a single instance in which she witnessed any cocaine use” in her lawsuit.
“Nor does she even allege that she was aware of any of the above-referenced ‘evidence’ before she made her Complaint,” they added.
People was first to report the news.
In 2024, McSweeney — who appeared on The Real Housewives of New York City in 2020 and 2021 and The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in 2023 — filed a lawsuit against Bravo, NBCUniversal and Cohen, who is an executive producer of the Housewives franchise. She claimed that Bravo fostered a toxic work environment that promoted alcohol abuse and drug use despite her disclosure that she has struggled with alcoholism.
“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,” McSweeney said in a February 2024 statement shared via Instagram. “It’s a workplace culture where toxicity, alcoholism and pain are not only expected but encouraged and facilitated.”
In court documents obtained by Luxury Handbag Shopping at the time, McSweeney claimed that Cohen “engaged in cocaine use” with multiple Bravo stars and allegedly rewarded participants with “more favorable treatment and edits.”
In response to the lawsuit, Cohen’s rep said in a statement, “The claims against Andy are completely false.”
A few months later, Cohen argued that Bravo is accommodating of cast members’ sobriety journeys.
“What I’ll say about the alcohol is that we have so many sober people and people who have gotten sober on the show, like Countess Luann [de Lesseps],” he told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2024. “We have people who’ve never had a drink during the entire run of the show: Jill Zarin, Kandi Burruss [and] Heather Dubrow will just have an occasional glass of champagne.”
Cohen continued, “So sure, there are people who drink. There are many people who never drink. We don’t force anyone to do anything. But no one is secretly hiding liquor bottles on set. That’s ridiculous. We’ve been very supportive of people’s sobriety.”
Bravo launched an investigation into Cohen after McSweeney filed her suit, but he was ultimately cleared and her claims were found to be “unsubstantiated.”
In March, Us confirmed that a judge denied Bravo and Cohen’s request to move the dispute with McSweeney to private arbitration. The case will proceed to trial, but a court date has not yet been set.
