Probably until last year, I only knew Andy Cohen peripherally. I vaguely knew of his affiliation with the Real Housewives franchises and his show, but mostly knew him from various gossipy headlines and his more famous friends. My impression of him pre-2021 was that he’s snarky and glib and friends with some mean girls. So his latest gaffe seems in line with that perception.
Monday night’s episode of Watch What Happens Live included Ciara Miller, a fairly recent addition to Bravo’s reality show roster. Ciara is a travel nurse who joined the Summer House cast in the last two seasons. When Andy introduced her, he was shocked that a nurse was so pretty, which obviously offended many. He got Twitter blowback and apologized while the live show was still airing.
On Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen Monday night, Cohen rubbed some viewers the wrong way. When introducing Ciara Miller, a nurse and cast member on Bravo’s Summer House, Cohen was shocked that a real nurse would be that attractive.
“Hi, Ciara, you’re looking so beautiful. Wow,” Cohen said. “You’re actually a nurse?” When Miller said yes, Cohen responded, “And this is what you look like? Wow.”
Viewers immediately took to Twitter to voice their displeasure.
About halfway through the show, Cohen got the message and apologized.
“Just want to say before we go on, I have offended the nurses of America and internationally. I apologize,” Cohen said. “I was merely mentioning that Ciara looks like a supermodel. I know that many nurses look — it’s no condemnation of nurses.”
Miller interrupted, saying, “All nurses are hot.”
“All nurses are hot,” Cohen agreed. “But the most important thing is, all nurses have the biggest hearts in the universe, and they are beautiful inside and out. I am sorry if I offended anyone.”
Cohen then got some words of encouragement from guest bartender John Mayer.
“John, was that satisfactory?” Cohen asked. Mayer answered, “It saved my woke little heart.”
Andy’s shows are pretty interactive so it was fitting and probably a good move that he apologized live. I thought his comment was pretty flip and so was his apology. Then it veered into overcompensation territory. Undoubtedly, it was a dumb thing to say and seemed very snotty and classist. Like, “I can’t believe a normal, a peasant, who works for a living could be attractive!” Also, due to Andy’s industry he probably has a narrow perception of beauty that veers towards a certain look. Like, Ciara was in full glam; most people with demanding jobs don’t have lashes and a full beat on a random Monday. Of course, I get why people were mad; I also dislike those sort of appearance-based expectation comments. Like “you look [like this], so I thought you would be [like that].” Anyway, don’t make assumptions about people’s jobs based on their appearance; make assumptions about their personalities instead!
Like I mentioned, I didn’t really have a sense of Andy himself until last year when I binged Real Housewives of Potomac and Atlanta. I actually thought his vibe was cute and he was a good reunion host. So I asked my friends who would know better than me and apparently he has a long list of feuds and history of inappropriate/problematic comments. So this was par for the course from him and “not even the 20th worst thing he’s ever said.” Yikes. They also said he tends to be a bit dismissive of the Summer House cast, despite its popularity (it’s on my list). And they noted that the inappropriate comment of the show could have gone either way with John Mayer guest bartending (ahem, Playboy interview). I actually found John’s response to Andy’s apology to be super patronizing, which is also on brand.
Photos credit: Avalon.red, Instar and via Instagram
Andy is problematic and has been for years. I cannot with that guy and when John Mayer is defending you well…I also side eye Anderson Cooper. He and Andy are friends and I think dated some time ago. If that’s who is in your inner circle it tells me a lot.
I love how the two men, after one of them messes up, correct the woman about what’s actually important… to women.
And the fact that Andy asked what’s his name if the apology was good, when he could have…. Asked the woman.
I agree with you, they hang out with like minded.
Isn’t JM the dickhead who said he had a “David Duke dick” because he wouldn’t sleep with a WOC? Am I misremembering? Why is he even getting *any* attention at all anymore? He’s so passe’.
@NotSoSocialB: Yes, yes and YES! And as to why J. Mayer is getting ANY attention? Well, you know what they say about the unfair nature of “cancel culture” and white men… non-existent. Anyway, it’s one thing to have a type and stick to it, but to describe it thus(!) that guy is telling the public something without articulating why he has that particular preference – and his message was loudly received by me when he said it.
@notsosocialb omg I didn’t know that, why is he even given air time. What a loser.
Andy, to me, gives the vibe of a catty gay man who in his heart hates women, has no respect for them. He’s gross.
Yup
Plus he’s not a nice person, to anyone.
And if you’re using John Mayer as your “Am I a good human” barometer, pick again.
He’s a misogynist who smiles and jokes to try to soften his misogyny. Just GROSS.
Kelly Ripa is another of his buddies they’re just a bunch of mean people with fake smiles.
As a former nurse I’m only mildly offended by this. Nurses rarely have the free time to take care of themselves.
When I was I needed food delivery and dog walking services because my shifts were constant. Nurses often neglect themselves in the care of others. Andy wouldn’t understand that sacrifice or the health care worker mentality.
Now, travel nurses… often they will be different, but not always. I’ve yet to meet a travel nurse that didn’t have her hair and nails done.
Last summer, I eavesdropped on two travel nurses while I was getting my nails done. One was talking about how she was offered a ‘sh*tload of money’ for her next job, which was evidently at the hospital where she used to work before she became a travel nurse. She was going to make way more and was planning to Uber to work since the parking was bad. The other, who was married to a lawyer, said that if Covid were still around she was going to get pregnant because her husband didnt want her working. It was all very entertaining and make me feel I had picked the wrong profession.
I had to look up ‘travel nurse’, as I hadn’t heard this term before. Interesting. And it makes sense with what I was seeing this year. I just moved to a new state for a new job & I was finding it difficult to get a place to live. I wanted a furnished monthly rental until I could find something I wanted permanently (HINT: do not move during a pandemic!), but every single time I found something, it was already taken by a nurse.
I get to do something similar in my own line of work; as a federal employee, there are opportunities to ‘detail’ to some other location for anywhere from two weeks to four months, occasionally one-year details even pop up. For me (single & childfree), it’s fun.
As for Andy Cohen, um, well, he deployed the ol’ ‘I’m sorry if I offended anyone’, which is no apology at all.
I don’t understand why this person is everywhere. He is obnoxious, offensive and has no wit. I suppose it’s good that he has such a high opinion of himself because not many other people possibly could. Except for Anderson.
Remember that Jeopardy bro-dude who gave himself the plum gig? Andy did it first. IIRC He was a Bravo tv producer who created shows he could host himself.
Thaaaat explains it, he handed himself these positions. Because, to me, Andy Cohen doesn’t look like show hosts typically look – sorry if I offended anyone.
Andy is also clearly SJPs mouthpiece,he says the nasty things especially about Kim Cattral to preserve her little good girl image.
I am saying the quiet part out loud: he hates women. As soon as I realized that about 6 years ago, I truly stopped watching all the bravo shows. Because really its about women ripping apart other women for entertainment — mainly his. No judgement if you do watch those shows — however for me it was just what I needed to do for my own mental health. He has been like this for years and getting passes for it — and he needs to be called out. He hates women.
He and Jeff Probst from Survivor both behave as if they dislike and disregard woman as human beings of value. They give them manipulative attention when it serves their purposes hosting their shows, but the misogyny and disdain for women oozes from them.
Totally agree with you!!!!
This needs to be shouted from every rooftop. I wish people would stop watching these shows…I turned on an old survivor season (I have never seen one) and one episode in I was pretty disgusted. People are encouraged to be total trashbags to each other, conniving and fake and nasty and backstabby. These “values” are promoted and received by the easily swayed and impressionable, bringing down the quality of our society. I know we all know this but….how depressing…
He’s the creator and producer of the Housewives and the reason why those shows became so combative. Watch season 1 of real housewives of orange county (if you can find it). The difference is striking. It’s also why he’s still the host of all the reunions and that ‘talk show’ even though he’s said so many ugly things about women. And yes, my opinion of Anderson Cooper went straight into the toilet when I found out he has been good friends with Andy for years. ‘You are the company you keep’.
Can’t stand Catty Cohen, OR any of his reality shows (never, watched never will; I hate that genre of bitchiness).
I also HATE when people fake-apologize by saying “IF” I offended. What bullshit. YOU DID OFFEND, THAT IS *WHY* YOU ARE APOLOGIZING!
C’mon Andy, say this: “I AM SORRY I OFFENDED YOU”. See, not so hard.
Thank you!!! AC’s apology wasn’t an actual apology!!! It was a fake ass statement!!!
AC needs to go away. I can’t stand him. As for Anderson Cooper, they may have been friends but they are more distant than that now. Cooper doesn’t associate with Cohen that much anymore unless he isn’t vocal about it. Cooper probably doesn’t want to start an issue with Cohen so he keeps him at a distance.
I must apologize for my statement. Apparently Cooper is good friends with Cohen, as I went further back into his IG page. He is also friends with Kelly Ripa too. So disappointed in AC, as I thought he was better than that.
I was wrong to state that Cooper was not friends with Cohen, as they apparently are. I am so sorry that I made that comment and assumption. I now feel sick.
I was shocked when I read AC’s history he’s from elite money – I think it’s gross that so many of these people are the top 1%, easy for them to not see the cost of their “friends” misogyny and racism.
HOOOOOLD UP! John Mayer was at the bar?? I thought the bartender gig at this show was reserved for the ones that aren’t stars yet and couldn’t sit down as an actual guest? Lol how the mighty have fallen 😂😂 couldn’t happen to a better person.
Andy Cohen is a racist misogynist POS so nothing that comes out of his mouth surprises me. He’s friends with all the mean girl celebrities so I’m not shocked. He’s made so many problematic comments over the years so this is on brand for him.
Ugh, I can’t stand him, never have been able to. He thinks he’s all that, and he ain’t. He’s so mean.
He has no idea why he should apologize, Twitter told him he should. So, he did. He could have kept it. An insincere apology is worse than no apology.
As a nurse myself I’m okay with us not being automatically classified as hot. I hate the sexy nurse stereotype/costume. Our job is really demanding, both physically and intellectually. I’ve had a lot of comments made when I was younger, mostly from other young guys, about how “hot” nurses are. It’s not generally a flattering compliment.
That being said, I’ve known a lot of really beautiful nurses but yes, they don’t often look very “glam” at work. I also know some pretty gorgeous docs. Beautiful people also work in healthcare.
My boyfriend who later became a very good husband once said during an episode of Law and Order “as if a law enforcement officer could be that hot!” I had to remind him that until about a year earlier before we met I had been a customs officer. The back peddling was outstanding. Never let him forget it.
Love it!
That stings – the area we both came from is heavily reliant on healthcare. After the events of the last couple of years, it would have been east for him to just give her a compliment and not tie it to her profession.