Andy Cohen has filed to dismiss Leah McSweeneyโs discrimination and substance abuse lawsuit, labeling her allegations as โthreadbare.โ
According to documents obtained by People, Cohenโs legal team contends that McSweeneyโs claims that he exploited her struggles with alcohol for ratings should be โdismissed as a matter of law.โ
This legal move comes three months after the former Real Housewives of New York star accused Bravo of capitalizing on her history of alcohol addiction and โmental health disordersโ to boost ratings.

In her lawsuit, McSweeney alleges that producers pushed her to drink through various methods, from coaxing her into it to denying her adequate time off to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, which she claims violated her rights under employment law.
However, Cohenโs team insists they never specifically aimed to โfeature inebriated cast membersโ on the Real Housewives franchise. They argue that even if they did, it would fall under their First Amendment rights.
The new filing asserts that McSweeneyโs discrimination claims โimpermissibly seek to abridgeโ Cohenโs โrights to tailor and adjust the messages they wish to convey in their creative works, including through cast selection and other creative decisions.โ
โโWhatever messagesโ Defendants โcommunicate or intended to communicateโ with their shows are protected by the First Amendment,โ the document continues, per People.

โJudicial intervention into casting decisions for expressive works โimpermissibly regulates [Defendantsโ] right to alter the content of the story [they] tellโor choose not to tell.โโ
Regarding McSweeneyโs claims of gender/sex-based harassment, Cohenโs legal team argues that the statute of limitations has expired. They also contend that her โonly timely allegationโ does not meet the standards set by New York City Human Rights Law.
Shortly after the filing, McSweeneyโs lawyer, Sarah Matz, stated that Cohenโs motion lacked โmerit.โ โIt mostly argues for dismissal on technical grounds, essentially saying that Defendants were allowed to discriminate against Ms. McSweeney โ not that they did not do it,โ she said in a statement.
โTo 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.โ

Where: New York, New York, United States. When: 01 May 2022. Credit: JOHN NACION/startraksphoto.com
In addition to Cohen, McSweeney sued Bravo, Shed Media (the production company behind the shows), and Warner Media, which owns Shed.
Elsewhere in McSweeneyโs lawsuit, she alleges that Cohen โengages in cocaine use with Housewives that he employsโ and that his โproclivity for cocaine usage with his employees is well-known throughout the Real Housewives franchise.โ
However, a Cohen representative told us the claims were โcompletely false,โ and Cohen himself later called them โhurtful.โ
โObviously, itโs no fun to be a target,โ he told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. โBut I have no regrets about the way Iโve handled anything.โ

โI think everything that happens in your life informs the next thing that happens in your life,โ he continued. โThatโs the way I look at all this. I know what the truth is and I know how Iโve conducted myself, and I walk tall every day on that.โ
The following day, Cohen was cleared by the network after an โoutside investigationโ found the drug claims โto be unsubstantiated.โ Yet, McSweeneyโs team wasnโt convinced.
โHow do you have an investigation without speaking with anyone? As far as we know, no one ever contacted our firm,โ her lawyer, Gary Adelman, said in a statement. โOur opinion is that no one is going to believe this was a real investigation.โ
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