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Andy Cohen spoke of backlash against the Real Housewives of Orange County, Vicki Gunvalson, and Carole Radziwill‘s role on The Real Housewives of New York City during a Q&A on Threads on Sunday.
While also confirming that casting had taken place for additional Real Housewives franchises, including The Real Housewives of Nashville and The Real Housewives of Chicago, the longtime Bravo executive reacted to MAGA cast members, commented on Vicki’s return, and addressed a potential boycott of RHONY season 16.
“Why so many MAGA women?? I can’t watch OC anymore because of them,” someone had asked on Threads on August 9.
“If we didn’t showcase people with different POV’s there would be no show. Also it’s a show about the women and their relationships, not about politics,” Andy replied.
He then responded to someone who described Vicki as “unwatchable” after her season 20 comeback.
“Do you genuinely think bringing Vicki back has been good for the show? She’s unwatchable IMO,” the person had claimed.
“I genuinely do,” Andy wrote back. “I think she is great this season.”
He then reacted to criticism over Carole’s return to RHONY, which came as she was linked to the Epstein files.
“Why on Earth did you bring back Carole with her known ties to the Epstein files[?] Many will be boycotting New York because of this,” one viewer alleged.
“Then they’re missing out,” Andy replied. “And she answers everything you’d want to know about it on the show.”
Others questioned Andy about casting for the Real Housewives in new cities.
“Have yall thought about Real Housewives of Nashville or something? [The] other franchises seem to come over here anyways lol,” someone noted.
“Have cast there a few times!” Andy confirmed.
Another person wondered, “Never been a Real Housewives of Chicago. Why?”
“We have cast there a few times,” Andy explained.
Back in 2021, around the time that The Real Housewives of Dallas came to an end, TMZ alleged that a new show could be coming out of Nashville with cast members including country star Jana Kramer, Kasi Wicks, the sister of Jason Aldean, Sabina Gadecki, the wife of Tyler Rich, and Jenna Perdue, the wife of Dee Jay Silver. However, nothing seemed to come of the news.
Years prior, amid claims that The Real Housewives of New York City alum Tinsley Mortimer could help launch a new Chicago-based franchise, Andy explained why Bravo ultimately opted against the series.
“We just didn’t find the right casting for Chicago. Whatever casting we did, it wasn’t right and we haven’t gone back to do more. That’s the issue,” he shared.