[
Bravo serves reality television, not the evening news — and Andy Cohen wants to make that loud and clear.
Cohen, who has been a network staple for two decades, opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about the ways in which Bravo shows have been impacted by the increasingly polarized political climate of the country.
“We try to steer clear of politics because people hate that. They come to us for an escape,” he told the outlet in an interview that was published today. “We have Housewives in red states and blue states. And a lot of blue-state fans get really riled up over Housewives who are Trump supporters.”
He added, “But you know, get over it, this is America.”
According to Cohen, he’s “more concerned” that he’ll go off on a political tangent while hosting his radio show.
“Some days I go in and my passionate dislike of Donald Trump can overtake me,” he admitted. “But people aren’t coming to hear my thoughts on politics.”
Cohen continued, “Frankly, the way that I use my platform the most is as a gay American and a gay dad. When I speak about politics, it is through that lens. I think that’s really important because I’m the only gay person in late-night television.”
In fact, the Real Housewives executive producer revealed that cancel culture has been the biggest challenge for the long-running franchise.
“Producing a show about politically incorrect women in 2024 is different than producing a show about politically incorrect women in 2009,” he said. “In 2009, when one of the kids called his brother a fag, we left it in the show and then discussed it at the reunion episode. That was how two brothers talked to each other in 2009, and we saw it as a teaching moment.”
However, Cohen noted that these days the slur would “immediately” be bleeped out and would ultimately “trigger a whole furor” on social media.
“Sensitivities have changed over the years. Social media has a huge impact,” he said. “There’s not a lot of room for nuance these days. We are living in an outrage culture now, and everyone has had to adapt to that.”
You can catch Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, which airs Sunday through Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
