Even though the Real Housewives franchise is supposed to be about the ladies, there are a lot of headlines about what goes on behind the scenes. For example, there are headlines about Andy Cohen’s comments about cancel culture, whether he will keep his job, and accusations that have been levied against him.
Unfortunately for Cohen, a claim that Leah McSweeney made likely won’t help him quell the drama. After all, McSweeney claimed that Real Housewives’ producers encouraged her to drink despite knowing about her struggles with alcoholism.
This article will reveal what Leah McSweeney said about Real Housewives producers trying to get her to fall off the wagon. Then, the article will look at how Andy Cohen reacted to McSweeney’s accusations against him.
Real Housewives Star Leah McSweeney Sued Bravo And Andy Cohen Over Allegations They Encouraged Her To Relapse
Between 2020 and 2023, Leah McSweeney became one of the Real Housewives franchise’s stars. In 2020 and 2021, McSweeney starred in the twelfth and thirteenth seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City. Then, in 2023, McSweeney starred in the third season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip.
After McSweeney starred in the Real Housewives franchise for several years, fans may have assumed she enjoyed the experience. However, a lawsuit that McSweeney later filed painted a very different picture of the situation.
In February 2024, McSweeney filed a lawsuit against Andy Cohen, Bravo, and the production company behind the Real Housewives franchise. As a US Weekly article about McSweeney’s lawsuit revealed, the Real Housewives star made some stunning accusations. That article quoted a post that McSweeney uploaded on Instagram about the lawsuit.
Via: Bravo
As a part of her post about the lawsuit, McSweeney admitted that she feared suing her former bosses and had been warned not to. “This is not a story I ever thought I would be telling; in fact, I was petrified to speak on it and was warned not to.”
McSweeney then went on to write about how Real Housewives’ producers would intentionally encourage stars to drink excessively and abuse substances. McSweeney made it clear that the Real Housewives’ producers did the same thing to her despite her past struggles with alcoholism.
“The reckless and diabolical way in which the people at the top drool over the mishaps and misfortunes of the women including myself are disturbing. It’s a workplace culture where toxicity, alcoholism and pain are not only expected but encouraged and facilitated. That is something I most definitely did not sign up for nor would I ever endorse.”
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Us Weekly’s article went on to reveal reported details of McSweeney’s lawsuit. According to McSweeney, she told Real Housewives’ producers that she’d been sober for 30 days and was trying to maintain that.
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Via: Bravo
Instead of supporting McSweeney’s efforts to remain sober, her lawsuit alleges the show’s producers encouraged her to drink. The lawsuit elaborates by claiming producers tried to get McSweeney to fall off the wagon during all three seasons she filmed. McSweeney alleged the producers wanted to exploit her struggles for their shows. In her Instagram post, McSweeney wrote about how she never wanted to reveal some of the details about her struggles that came out in the lawsuit.
“I have been very transparent about my addiction and recovery, however there are personal things in the lawsuit that I never wanted to disclose for fear of being judged and shamed, but I am at a point now in my life where I feel strong enough to withstand whatever may come my way.”
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When Leah McSweeney wrote about her lawsuit on Instagram, she told her fans that she spent a lot of time trying to get her complaints addressed before that. “I’ve been trying to address this internally for years now but have been dismissed, stone-walled, and gaslit (but actually) at every turn since.”
Months after Leah McSweeney first filed her lawsuit, she amended it in June 2024. As a Page Sx article from that time reveals, McSweeney added more complaints to her lawsuit about how she was treated after she sued.
Via: Bravo
According to McSweeney’s follow-up filing, she was “retaliated” against after she filed her lawsuit as a part of a “malicious” attempt to scare her into dropping the matter. McSweeney also believed that she was shamed by lawyers related to the team behind Real Housewives to scare any other people who might consider suing.
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Finally, McSweeney claimed that the retaliation campaign negatively affected her ability to make money.
How Did Andy Cohen Publicly React To Leah McSweeney’s Lawsuit?
In March 2024, Andy Cohen’s lawyer released a statement on the producer’s behalf as a March 2024 Variety article revealed. As a part of that statement, Cohen completely denied the allegations that were made against him in McSweeney’s lawsuit.
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In the aforementioned statement, Cohen didn’t go into detail about the allegations that McSweeney made about him. Instead, Cohen stated that every claim about him from McSweeney’s lawsuit was false.
“Virtually every statement about Mr. Cohen contained in the complaint is false and will be proven so if this baseless lawsuit proceeds.”
Via: Instar
Furthermore, Cohen threatened that if McSweeney didn’t retract her statements about him, he may hold her accountable, “to the fullest extent of the law”. Cohen’s statement also claimed that McSweeney’s allegations lacked detail because they were made up.
“While proclaimed as facts, these allegations are missing every detail, including the who, where, and when. That is because you know that no such details exist, as a slew of current and former cast members has independently confirmed (which you well know through press reports). The allegations were obviously made up.”