Credit: David Becker/Charles Sykes/Bravo, Instagram
Andy Cohen reacted to Bethenny Frankel‘s reality reckoning while attending an “Ask Andy” panel on the opening day of BravoCon on Friday.
As the Real Housewives of New York City alum, 52, continues to call out Bravo, NBCUniversal, and their execs, including Andy, for mistreating their talent and silencing them with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which they’ve denied, Andy, 55, clapped back while also revealing his favorite Real Housewives and teasing the upcoming 14th season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Following reports claiming Teresa Giudice, 51, refused to film with Melissa Gorga, 44, throughout production, Andy insisted fans will be pleased with the forthcoming episodes.
“I think that’s what is refreshing about the season, and I actually kind of found it refreshing last season, is they’re not even pretending. I mean, they just hate each other,” Andy told the crowd, per PEOPLE. “So it’s like once that’s out the door, it actually kind of takes the energy out of the whole thing and then you can move on and tell other stories, which is what is happening this season.”
“I think it will be really interesting for people [to see] because there are a lot of new alliances,” he continued. “All the platelets kind of shift this season and I think it’s really interesting to watch.”
But the audience wasn’t convinced that the RHONJ cast shouldn’t have been changed ahead of filming and began chanting, “Fire Teresa!”
#RHONJ news: Andy discussed with Jeff at his #BravoCon panel about the new season and how the dynamics have shifted! Someone in the audience screamed “fire Teresa” but Jeff says immediately that SHE brings in the ratings 😅 period. pic.twitter.com/WzmlXxmDa7
— Daily Bravo 💌 (@dailybravomail) November 3, 2023
In response, host Jeff Lewis, 53, pointed out that Andy would never do that because Teresa “brings in the ratings.”
“You can’t fire her,” he stated. “That’s the problem. I mean, I like Teresa. I’m fine, I’m good with her now. I don’t want to cause any more problems.”
At another moment in the panel, as seen in a clip shared by All About the Real Housewives on Instagram, Andy named Kyle Richards, 54, of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Kandi Burruss, 47, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, as well as other Bravolebrities, when asked about who he’s closest to from the Housewives franchise.
“For me, it’s the people who’ve been on the longest … Kyle, Jeff, Padma Lakshmi,” he explained. “Kandi and I are very much in touch … I feel like I’ve been through a lot with Teresa and Melissa. I feel like there may be more of a shorthand because we’ve known each other for so many years and worked together for so many years.”
Andy then weighed in on Bethenny’s many claims against Bravo.
“My thoughts are that Bravo, as we all can see, Bravo and the shows that are on Bravo bring millions of people so much joy and so much happiness, which is why we are all here to have fun,” he noted, via Queens of Bravo on Instagram. “What I think is, I live in the joy that these shows bring people and I think we all do. That’s the place that I’m at.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 13 is expected to premiere on Bravo in early 2024.
