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Leah McSweeney has filed a bombshell lawsuit against Bravo and Andy Cohen, claiming producers of The Real Housewives of New York City and Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip encouraged her to drink in an effort to score big ratings for their shows.
In addition to accusing Andy, 55, of snorting cocaine with his favorite Real Housewives cast members, Leah, 41, says producers of the shows, on which she starred for a total of three seasons, preyed on her alcohol dependency, attempting to coax her into a relapse and refusing her time to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings amid her recovery.
In court documents obtained by Page Six on February 27, Leah, who is represented by attorney Adelman Matz, labeled Andy “diabolical” and said Bravo preys on the “misfortunes” of its female cast members while ignoring “sexually predatory behavior” by its staff.
According to Leah, she alerted producers to her sobriety before filming her first scene for RHONY. However, despite that, they “not only supplied [her] with unlimited, free-of charge alcoholic beverages throughout Ms. McSweeney’s employment as a cast member on RHONY season 12, but also encouraged her to consume those alcoholic beverages.”
“This environment caused [Leah] to relapse into alcohol addiction shortly after joining RHONY season 12,” the lawsuit explained.
Still, after gaining her sobriety after season 12, Leah returned for season 13 “because she felt she could make her experience better.” Unfortunately, during a meeting about the then-upcoming season, producers allegedly brushed off Leah’s dependency on alcohol, asking, “Well you don’t have a problem… do you?”
During one particular episode of the show, which was filed amid a cast trip, Leah “grew mentally and physically ill, which manifested into extreme depressive symptoms.” It was later confirmed to be the highest-rated episode of the season “all due to [the defendants’] exacerbation of [Leah]’s clear disabilities.”
Certain cast members “expressed concerns regarding [Leah]’s erratic behavior,” but a producer “called [Leah] and told her that, despite relapsing into alcohol use disorder, [she] should continue to consume alcohol so long as she ‘remain[ed] lucid’ while filming,’” the lawsuit stated.
Leah is suing Andy, Bravo, Shed Media, and Warner Media, which owns Shed, under the Disabilities Act, claiming Bravo breached her rights by refusing her proper care for her addiction; she’s seeking unspecified damages.
In addition to putting Leah “in situations where she felt pressured to relapse into alcohol use disorder,” producers allegedly praised cast members who drank and “glorifying their alcohol use,” which made Leah concerned for her status with the network.
“[Leah] feared that her sobriety would cause a trickledown effect, where if she continued not to drink… [Andy], [the producers] and the audience would think she was boring [and Andy] would no longer want her on the show,” the case stated.
Before filming RHUGT in Thailand, Leah said she was told that she could attend AA meetings. However, once she arrived, she claims a producer told her the production company “refused to provide transportation to get to the AA meetings in Thailand and that there would not be time for her to attend AA meetings given the filming schedule.”
Leah is also suing for sexual discrimination, saying that Andy asked her questions on air about her body and sex life when he didn’t do the same with male cast members.
In another portion of Leah’s lawsuit, also by Page Six, it was alleged that Andy snorts cocaine with his favorite Housewives.
After stating that Bravo is a network built on a culture that “thrives off drug and alcohol use,” Leah said Andy “engages in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs” and that “[his] proclivity for cocaine usage with his employees is well-known throughout the Real Housewives franchise.”
“In fact, Cohen tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment and [makes them appear more agreeably in] edits [of their shows].”
She also said this alleged behavior “leads to a failure to accommodate employees who are disabled and trying to stay substance free.”
In addition, Leah accused another producer, who was not named, of “routinely [sending] unsolicited pictures of [their] genitalia to lower-level … production employees,”
Bravo and Shed “know or should know about [the producer’s] sexual harassment, [they] continue to elevate [the producer] to positions of increased power … By failing to take appropriate remedial action [Bravo and Shed] tacitly send the message to [the producer] and all other employees that they can engage in unlawful employment practices with impunity,” her lawsuit explained.
In response to the lawsuit, a rep for Andy told Page Six, “The claims against Andy are completely false.”
According to another report from Deadline, Andy “wasn’t particularly surprised” by Leah’s filing, especially after she threatened to take the network to court last year, accusing them of employment discrimination.
After the filling of her lawsuit, Leah spoke out on Instagram with a statement.
“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,” Leah wrote, in part. “I may be a pariah to them after this, but I do hope my lawsuit helps reality TV to align with its true purpose: to authentically depict the complexities of life while offering genuine support to those who share their stories.”
Her full message can be seen below:
After Leah’s post was shared, she received a comment from Brandi Glanville, 51, who threatened to sue Bravo and accused Andy of sexual harassment days ago.
“We are NOT expendable,” Brandi wrote in a comment, along with a couple of clapping hands emoji. “We are strong women [and] even stronger together. Time to take our power back.”
Leah’s message also received “likes” from several Bravolebrities, including Real Housewives of Dallas alum Brandi Redmond, 45, Vanderpump Rules star Dayna Kathan, 33, and RHONY‘s Jenna Lyons, 55.
Bravo has not yet responded to Leah’s lawsuit.
