Andy Cohen has filed to have Leah McSweeney’s lawsuit against him dismissed.
The former Real Housewives of New York City star, 41, is suing the Bravo network and Cohen, 55, for alleged discrimination and a hostile work environment, and claims a ‘rotted’ work culture pressured cast members to consume alcohol.
According to People, Cohen asked a judge to dismiss McSweeney’s claims, calling her allegations ‘threadbare’ and stating that they should be ‘dismissed as a matter of law’.
Cohen’s filing says that McSweeney’s allegations, ‘impermissibly seek to abridge Defendants’ First Amendment rights to tailor and adjust the messages they wish to convey in their creative works, including through cast selection and other creative decisions’.
The filing continues, ‘Whatever messages Defendants “communicate or intended to communicate” with their shows is protected by the First Amendment.
Andy Cohen has filed to have Leah McSweeney’s lawsuit against him dismissed
The former Real Housewives of New York City star, 41, is suing the Bravo network and Cohen, 55, for alleged discrimination and a hostile work environment among other issues
‘Judicial intervention into casting decisions for expressive works impermissibly regulate[s] [Defendants’] right to alter the content of the story [they] tell —or choose not to tell.’
Cohen also denied McSweeney’s allegations that she had experienced discrimination, citing Title VII and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) by stating that they had surpassed the statue of limitations.
McSweeney’s lawyer, Adelman-Matz co-founder Sarah Matz, responded with a statement.
‘We do not agree that the motion has merit — it mostly argues for dismissal on technical grounds essentially saying that Defendants were allowed to discriminate against Ms. McSweeney — not that they did not do it,’ they said.
‘To agree with the Defendants would be to essentially say that the creative industries are not subject to anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws and that networks could engage in discrimination and retaliation with impunity, which is not the law.’
McSweeney, who is now sober, spoke about going up against a ‘powerful entity’ like Bravo while appearing on the Addiction Talk podcast back in March.
She said that though the lawsuit has caused blowbacks it doesn’t matter because ‘this is the truth, you know? And I have it on my side.’
Cohen asked a judge to dismiss McSweeney’s claims, calling her allegations ‘threadbare’ and stating that they should be ‘dismissed as a matter of law’
Cohen also denied McSweeney’s allegations that she had experienced discrimination
‘As hard as it is to be going up against a very powerful entity, and for people to maybe also just not agree with me or you know, come at me and get blowback and all the things, I don’t care, because this is the truth, you know?’ she shared.
‘And my intentions are really good. And I check myself all the time about that,’ the star added.
The former RHONY star added that she’s doing ‘great’ all things considered.
‘I’m leaning into my program, and my meetings, and my sober friends, and my regular friends that are not sober but are amazing,’ she shared.
‘And I use thing things that I learned in recovery about intention and about taking inventory. And I’m in a really good place right now.’
‘It’s taken a long time to get here. It’s a journey and it’s not linear.’
‘The thing I’ve learned is to have a healthy fear of your addiction. And you can never feel like it’s that far away. Because it’s not.’
‘I have a very healthy fear of my addiction and my alcoholism. But I’m doing good.’
Later she added, ‘Even when you’re in a really good place, it still hurts. It’s still not an enjoyable experience to have people coming at you, or be dealing with the situation that I’m in.’
Leah’s lawyer responded, saying, ‘We do not agree that the motion has merit’
A rep for Cohen told Dailymail.com that ‘the claims against Andy are completely false’
When asked if she would participate in reality TV knowing what she knows now, or whether she regrets it, Leah shared, ‘As an addict, there are so many things that have been not great, that I could regret. But what’s the point? I can’t change it now.’
Her interview comes following news that Cohen and his legal team are threatening the ex RHONY star with legal action, after she claimed he took cocaine with his favorite Real Housewives stars.
Bravo producer and personality Cohen was accused of ‘engaging in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs,’ according to a suit filed in New York’s Southern District by McSweeney.
A rep for Cohen told Dailymail.com that ‘the claims against Andy are completely false’ at the time and now, a letter from Cohen’s attorneys obtained by TMZ has urged McSweeney to retract her ‘categorically false’ allegations or face a lawsuit.
Cohen’s attorneys have said everything McSweeney claimed in the lawsuit is false and added on the cocaine claim: ‘[W]e demand that you immediately retract and withdraw all allegations relating to Mr. Cohen’s purported ‘cocaine use.'”
‘To be clear: these allegations are categorically false. Mr. Cohen never used cocaine with any cast member on any Real Housewives show or with any other Bravo employee. The absence of any reasonable basis to make such allegations is confirmed by your pleading itself.’
Bravo producer and personality Cohen was accused of ‘engaging in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs,’ according to the suit
His attorneys point out there are no details included in the allegation and claim McSweeney made the explosive claim ‘just to get headlines and a quick payday.’
A source close to McSweeney told the publication that she is ‘flabbergasted’ that Cohen keeps bringing attention to the case in the press ‘rather than just letting it play out in court.’
McSweeney’s lawsuit filed against Cohen and Bravo alleges cocaine use is rampant at the the network, with the linchpin producer and on-air personality both using the illegal drug and providing it to employees.
McSweeney said in court docs reviewed by Page Six that Cohen ‘tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment’ and strategic editing to make them look better.
Cohen ‘intentionally uses cocaine with his employees to further promote a workplace culture that thrives off drug and alcohol use, which leads to a failure to accommodate employees who are disabled and trying to stay substance free,’ McSweeney said in court docs.
McSweeney appeared on two seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City in 2020-2021, and on a season of Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, which aired last year.
McSweeney said in the legal docs that Bravo ‘thrives off drug and alcohol use,’ without naming any further parties past Cohen.
She said she informed Bravo producers prior to her casting on the series, that she had been focused on staying sober, and had a 30-day streak of sobriety going into the show.
McSweeney said in the legal docs that Bravo ‘thrives off drug and alcohol use,’ without naming any further parties past Cohen
McSweeney told the court that producers failed to make a ‘reasonable accommodation’ for her addiction-related disability – but instead provided her ‘with unlimited, free-of charge alcoholic beverages,’ and ‘encouraged her to consume those alcoholic beverages.’
Her legal team said that ‘this environment caused Ms. McSweeney to relapse into alcohol addiction shortly after joining RHONY season 12.’
McSweeney said in court docs that Bravo producers sought to sabotage her sobriety by both exacerbating it and stopping her from getting treatment for her problem.
The former reality star told the court that Bravo executives violated her employment rights under the Disabilities Act by preventing her to get help for her alcohol issues, knowing she was dealing with them.
McSweeney, who has a fashion label called Married To The Mob, said in the legal docs that sexual harassment was also rife in the company, claiming that a senior producer ‘routinely sends unsolicited pictures of [their] genitalia to lower-level … production employees,’ and that executives have ignored the issues.
McSweeney in her suit, which is for unspecified damages, named Cohen, Bravo, Shed Media and Shed’s parent company Warner Media.
