Leah McSweeney – formerly of The Real Housewives of New York City and Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip – and her team are keeping their foot on the gas in their legal pursuits against both Bravo and Andy Cohen. That’s just for now. They’ve promised that others involved should be expecting lawsuits soon, too.
In the meantime, Leah’s publicist and attorney have set their sights on responding to the bevy of Bravolebrities who’ve come out in support of Andy and the network.
Leah’s team says they aren’t here for anyone trying to dismiss a woman’s mistreatment. In Leah’s case, they claim there was a concerted effort to exploit her alcoholism to make for a juicy show. The suit also alleges that Andy regularly used cocaine with his “favorite Housewives.” Andy vehemently denies that part and has threatened legal action of his own.
Leah’s team on Andy’s defenders: “She won’t let anyone deny her truth”
A slew of Housewives both past and present have come out in support of Bravo Andy since Leah filed her suit. So far they include the likes of Vicki Gunvalson, Sutton Stracke, Lisa Vanderpump, Kyle Richards, and Margaret Josephs.
Basically, all of them are of the same consensus: whether they drank or not was their choice. Andy never offered them cocaine. And, their overall experiences with him and Bravo were nothing but professional. Even Kelly Bensimon, whose Scary Island mess is mentioned in Leah’s lawsuit, wants nothing to do with this.
Leah’s rep gave a statement to Page Six addressing her detractors. They say that Leah’s aim was only ever to address her own personal experiences. So, what anyone else says or thinks is inconsequential.
“Leah has never claimed to speak for anyone else. She filed this lawsuit based on her own lived experiences. The claims in Leah’s lawsuit are about Leah’s experiences at Bravo and Leah’s experiences only. She’s not attempting to tell anyone else’s truth, but she won’t let anyone deny her truth either.”
They added, “Imagine a female employee making claims similar to Leah’s about drug and alcohol use at any other major company — from Facebook to Coca Cola to UPS or anywhere. Would this be the reaction? But because [Bravo is] an entertainment brand, somehow people think it’s okay to dismiss and downplay a woman’s stories of mistreatment at work.”
Leah’s attorney Gary Adelman expressed a similar sentiment to the BBC. “It doesn’t matter what people say or think. That Andy’s a good guy, or that you should expect to drink [on Bravo shows]. Or that you should expect this behavior. What’s going to matter is what the law thinks of it. And we believe the law thinks this is wrong.”
So far, neither Bravo nor Andy have responded to these recent statements.
Leah’s old episodes of RHONY and Ultimate Girls Trip stream on Peacock.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK ANY BRAVOLEBRITIES WILL COME TO LEAH’S DEFENSE?
