Bethenny Frankel called out Andy Cohen for asking ‘problematic’ questions on Watch What Happens Live.
While speaking with NeNe Leakes on Thursday’s episode of her Just B podcast, the reality star, 52, slammed the Emmy Award-winning host, 55, for making guests feel like they were being “f**king skinned alive.” as they appeared on his TV. popular late night talk show.
“The last time I went to that show, I was with my daughter, and… he asks questions like, ‘Who’s the ugliest housewife?’ And you say, ‘Oh, let me think,'” Frankel claimed.
Although Cohen didn’t ask her that exact question when she appeared on his talk show in December, the TV personality and Cohen have tensely resolved their differences after she called the Housewives franchise “toxic.”
Not holding back: Bethenny Frankel called out Andy Cohen for asking ‘problematic’ questions on Watch What Happens Live
Still, she insisted to the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 55, that his interviews are “so bad,” as she claimed he would ask “who is the worst mother” and other “problematic” things.
Frankel went on to say that she feels like he is “always protected” on his show, when in fact guests are being interrogated.
The mother-of-one even compared appearing on his show to pouring ‘Tobasco sauce’ over someone’s ‘naked’ body.
“We’re out there being thrown away like pieces of meat, only to be torn apart by the press,” she continued. “It all seems so dirty.”
Cohen has a reputation for asking unfiltered and sometimes cringe-inducing questions, such as when he pressured Anderson Cooper to reveal “the last time” he “sent or received advertising photos.”
He also made Oprah Winfrey feel uncomfortable when she asked in 2013 if she had “ever swum in the ladies’ pond.”
The Skinnygirl mogul’s comments came after a number of NBC and Bravo reality show stars accused the networks of “grotesque and depraved” treatment on set.
They are currently demanding to be released from their NDA so they can expose the “systemic rot” without fear of retaliation.
Angry: During a chat with NeNe Leakes on Thursday’s episode of her Just B podcast, the reality star, 52, slammed the Emmy Award-winning host, 55, for making guests feel like they were being “f**king skinned alive while appearing on his popular late-night talk show
The litany of alleged abuses suffered by the as-yet-unnamed stars ranges from discrimination to minors being exploited by not receiving any payment for long-term appearances on shows and showrunners distributing “revenge porn.”
Last month, sources told DailyMail.com that Frankel was “leading the charge” against the network after criticizing executives for exploiting “wide-eyed young talent” desperate to be on TV.
NBC said in a statement that it is “committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.”
But in a bombshell letter sent to the broadcaster in August, the celebrities’ attorney, Bryan J Freedman, said the “size and scope of the misconduct is greater than previously believed.”
It has been “impossible” for alleged victims to fully expose the company’s “systemic rot” behind the scenes because of illegal nondisclosure agreements that NBC “wields like a sword,” the lawyer said.
Freedman, who previously represented Seth Rogan and Julia Roberts, among others, said that “a significant number of cast and crew members appear on NBCUniversal’s unscripted programming” including NBC, Bravo and E! have made claims.
This could be just the tip of the iceberg, with Freedman saying in his Sunday letter that “hundreds” or even “thousands” of people have been victims or witnesses of abuse from NBCUniversal shows.
“Over the course of our investigation, we have not only confirmed the veracity of our initial allegations, but we have also discovered that the size and scope of your wrongdoing is greater than previously believed,” he wrote.
“The last time I went to that show, I was with my daughter, and… he asks questions like, ‘Who’s the ugliest housewife?’ And you say, ‘Oh, let me think,'” Frankel claimed
“We are left with the inescapable conclusion that NBC and its production partners are struggling with systemic rot for which sunlight is the first necessary remedy.
“Until now, that has been impossible due to the draconian terms of NBC’s contracts with its cast and crew, which contain onerous confidentiality provisions coupled with disastrous penalties for violation.
“To ensure silence, NBC wields these contractual terms like a sword.”
The A-listers’ lawyer said they took legal action against the networks on August 3, warning them that “your day of reckoning has arrived.”
Eleven days later, Freedman demanded that NBCUniversal and its affiliates publicly release the unscripted cast and crew from NDAs that he said “violated California law.”
Speaking: The Skinnygirl mogul’s comments after a number of NBC and Bravo reality show stars accused the networks of ‘grotesque and depraved’ treatment on set (seen in July 2023)
He said NBCUniversal and its third-party production partners have “collectively failed” to comply with the law — along with their own anti-discrimination policies.
This has led to “hundreds or thousands of people remaining silent about unlawful workplace behavior they have witnessed or experienced” – including racism, sexism, sexual violence, revenge porn, child labor, forcible intoxication and physical abuse.
“This culture of fear and silence is undoubtedly partly responsible for the disproportionate number of suicides among reality TV participants,” Freedman said.
“Please note that this despicable practice must end now. NBCUniversal has two choices: lead by example or be forced into compliance.”
Freedman ended his fiery letter by re-emphasizing calls for the company to release all staff from “unlawful” NDAs.