“There are more lawsuits coming and there are more people who are going to speak out,” McSweeney’s lawyer, Gary Adelman, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 12. “It doesn’t matter what people say or think — that Andy’s a good guy, or that you should expect to drink, or that you should expect this behavior.”
Adelman’s statement concluded, “What’s going to matter is what the law thinks of it. And we believe the law thinks this is wrong.”
McSweeney, 41, filed a lawsuit against Cohen, 55, Bravo, NBC/Universal, production house Shed Media U, and producers John Paparazzo, Lisa Shannon and Darren Ward on February 27.
The former Real Housewives of New York City star claimed, in part, that Cohen “engaged in cocaine use” with members of The Real Housewives franchises. McSweeney has also alleged that the network and its executives “create a dangerous work environment” and “encourage substance abuse,” claiming that she felt “pressured” to drink during her RHONY tenure. (McSweeney was a RHONY cast member from 2020 to 2021, appearing on two seasons of the show. Her decision to drink after years of sobriety was captured during season 12. During her second season of RHONY and her appearance on The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip, she opted not to drink.)
Multiple Housewives have spoken out in defense of Cohen, including Luann de Lesseps, Margaret Josephs and Guerdy Abraira, among others.
Cohen, for his part, called the claims “completely false” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter February 28. His lawyer later sent a letter to McSweeney’s legal team, which was obtained by Page Six on March 7, claiming that the lawsuit is “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 from Cohen’s lawyer read, noting that “an allegation of drug use in the workplace is a serious charge.”
Cohen’s legal team subsequently demanded the “cocaine use” claimes were “immediately” retracted.
McSweeney’s legal team responded to Cohen’s letter in a statement obtained by Us on March 7, declaring that they “do not intend to litigate this matter in the press.”
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
