Andy Cohen Sad About "Attacks" From Bethenny Frankel

Andy Cohen has been on our screens for quite a while, and he's now, in essence, the Godfather of Bravo. Through shows that Cohen has been involved in and produced, many unknowns have rocketed to reality stardom and fulfilled their dreams, whether that's through fame, fortune, or building a business or brand. The most major example of this is within The Real Housewives franchise, and specifically with a certain housewife from The Real Housewives of New York City: Bethenny Frankel.

When the franchise first launched almost 20 years ago with The Real Housewives of Orange County, none of the housewives were well-known and went on to become household names, as did other cast members, while the franchise expanded to several cities all over the U.S. and beyond. Of course, the housewives that have gone on to be successful have surely done so on their own merit, but the platform that Andy and Bravo provided was a huge benefit and blessing to many—a springboard, if you will. Frankel launched her SkinnyGirl brand back in 2009, and after much hard work (and some well-timed product placements), she made a name for herself, as well. After seeing a monumental amount of success and eventually leaving the series, though, she's back in the conversation again, namely going after Cohen more recently.

Bethenny Frankel Has Encouraged Reality Stars To Form a Union

When we first met Bethenny back in Season 1 of The Real Housewives of New York City, she already had the searing drive and ambition, but just couldn’t seem to break through. We watched her trying to promote and sell her wares in supermarkets in person while on the series, and now it's finally paid off: she's a hugely successful and wealthy entrepreneur. Yet, despite Bethenny acknowledging that the show gave her a break in one way, she has also been very vocal about things that she was not happy with as it relates to the franchise, Bravo, and ultimately, Andy Cohen, too.

In 2023, Bethenny took to TikTok with her concerns and urged her fellow reality stars to form a union and approach their lawyers to see if they had any recourse with similar concerns to her. She raised some legitimate concerns, such as how the network earned “millions” from her and felt underpaid as a result of that. However, the call to action on social media led to the floodgates soon opening with what seemed like complaint after complaint and lawsuit after lawsuit. NeNe Leakes, a former housewife of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, was vocal about her displeasure with the network. Then, there was Leah Sweeney’s allegations, and, most recently, Brandi Glanville’s accusations involving Caroline Manzo’s legal case against her.

Not surprisingly, Andy told Vulture that he was “sad about it” and, in referring to the recent complaints, that “there was a lot of noise.” Many have long admired Cohen for his ability to navigate and bring together various groups of Housewives and Bravo cast members at events and reunions, but some have accused these recent concerns from Bravolebrities as “biting the hand that feeds them.” However, several Bravo stars have come out in support of Cohen, including Lisa Vanderpump. It remains to be seen if any more reality stars are going to make their feelings known about Cohen and the network, but judging off just how much noise is being made, it's likely we'll hear a bit more from some Bravolebrities in the future.

Watch Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Peacock.