A Brief History of Celebs Throwing Shade at Other Celebs on ‘Watch What Happens Live’
When it comes to spilling the tea, Andy Cohen is starting to become the go-to source for celebs dishing on other celebs. Whether it’s the intimate set environment Watch What Happens Live provides in the Bravo Clubhouse, or the free-flowing alcohol that helps celebs loosen their lips, talk show host Cohen is gaining notoriety for getting stars to talk trash about their fellow stars.
The most recent dish comes courtesy of Broadway queen Patti LuPone, who didn’t hesitate to throw Madonna under the bus on Tuesday night. When a caller asked whether she and Madonna had ever had a discussion about their shared iconic role of Eva Perón in the musical Evita, LuPone was brutally honest.
First, she explained how the two had a brief run-in while on Broadway, during which the only thing Madge said to her was, “I’m taller than you.” Then, LuPone went in on Madonna’s performance after Cohen pressed her on what she thought of Madonna’s version of their shared role.
“Well…” LuPone paused to raucous audience laughter. “I was on the treadmill when MTV used to have videos, and I saw, I believe it was ‘Buenos Aires,’ and I thought it was a piece of s***. Madonna is a movie killer. She’s dead behind the eyes, she cannot act her way out of a paper bag, she should not be in film or onstage.”
Ouch! LuPone went on to say Madonna was a “wonderful performer for what she does,” but “she is not an actress.”
Want more? Check out these other examples of stars talking trash with Cohen…
1. Mariah Carey claimed she didn’t know Demi Lovato (and addressed that J.Lo shade)
It was the snub heard ’round the world, when songbird Mariah Carey did an interview back in 2000 in which she claimed not to know fellow songstress Jennifer Lopez, who was superhot at the time. Of course, years later Cohen was still intrigued by the “I don’t know her” comment, so when Carey came on his show he decided to address the situation the best way he knew how: by turning it into a game. But first, he got the diva to dish on that famous comment.
After a roll of her eyes, Carey said, “Let me just tell you: I’ve spoken with you at least three times, right? I mean, we’ve had many conversations together. Do you think I know your every waking thought? I don’t!” (Clearly this is a classic Carey nonanswer.)
“Do you know me?” Cohen quipped.
Carey still managed to sidestep the direct question, and as Cohen launched into a game of “Does She Know Her?” Carey claimed, “You’re forgetting, I’m forgetful.”
In the end, the “Hero” singer said she knew Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and probably Miley Cyrus. She didn’t know Ariana Grande, and in a game of Plead the Fifth, she said she didn’t know Demi Lovato.
When Cohen asked her about the alleged shade Lovato threw at her over Twitter when she called Carey out for being nasty to people, Carey simply said (with a little Carey-esque snark), “I don’t know her either, so I wouldn’t say anything to her. But she should come up, introduce herself to me, say, ‘Here’s my opinion, what do you think about it?’ That’s how you handle s***, OK?”
Never change, Mariah. Never change.
2. Jennifer Lawrence shaded some unnamed celebs and dissed Justin Bieber
Real Housewives superfan Jennifer Lawrence is always a delight in interviews, thanks in large part to her willingness to be open and honest, which is something Cohen definitely takes advantage of when she’s on his show. Recently, Cohen asked Lawrence’s BFF Laura Simpson to discuss which celebs Lawrence hates … and while she didn’t go into detail about who they were, she did share her nicknames for them, which sent the Internet into a guessing game tizzy.
“There’s the Lady, there’s Pickle … who else do we have?” Simpson asked.
“Well, the Lady has different variations,” Lawrence said. “There’s the Aging Lady, the Lady in Red, the Lady in Waiting…”
The two then dissolved into giggles without revealing a thing. Lawrence was much more direct in another episode when asked if she would ever hook up with Justin Bieber. With a stony look on her face, Lawrence said simply, “I’m gonna say a hard no.”
3. Nick Lachey talked smack about his ex-father-in-law, Joe Simpson
In the early aughts, there was no escaping the power couple that was Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, so their 2006 split was hot gossip. Both have long since moved on, to the point where Lachey spoke openly, and without venom, about his famous ex when Cohen asked about her. He said they didn’t speak and didn’t say anything bad about Simpson, but he didn’t extend the same courtesy to his famous former father-in-law.
“What is the best thing about no longer having Joe Simpson as a father-in-law?” Cohen asked Lachey.
After stalling for a bit — during which his brother Drew bleated, “Everything!” — Lachey finally answered with a smile, “OK, the best thing about no longer having Joe Simpson as a father-in-law is I no longer have to play grab-ass under the table on Easter Sunday.”
Mic drop.
4. Elisabeth Moss called out Jeremy Piven for being ‘unprofessional’
Surely you’ll all recall when Jeremy Piven was on Broadway in Speed the Plow back in 2008 — not because of his stellar performance, but because he backed out of it due to mercury poisoning from eating too much sushi. It’s not something his former co-star Elizabeth Moss forgot, and when Cohen pressed her about the incident, the actress freely opened up.
“That’s a good one — that’s a very good one, I could go on and on,” Moss said, adding that Piven was “highly unprofessional.”
“It came out of nowhere, he just didn’t come back one day,” she explained. “I saw him like a month later at the Golden Globes when he was supposed to be really sick.”
5. Charlie Sheen trashed everyone
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that actor and noted loose cannon Charlie Sheen went off on pretty much everyone when he was on Cohen’s show. In fact, Cohen practically didn’t have to ask questions — Sheen was more than willing to go there without issue.
First, there was his snark against Queen RiRi, when he recounted a Twitter feud he got into with the singer. The origin of the feud? Rihanna declined a request from Sheen to get an autograph for his then-fiancée, Brett Rossi (aka Scottine Sheen), when they were at the same restaurant having dinner. When Cohen asked if they made up, Sheen said, “Oh, that b****.” When Cohen suggested Sheen just made things worse, Sheen replied, “No, she abandoned common courtesy and common sense.” (Because he is a paragon of such things.)
But Sheen wasn’t finished. During a rousing game of Plead the Fifth, Cohen asked him about the craziest place he had had sex (“Eiffel Tower elevator”), one celeb he hooked up with in the ’80s or ’90s that would surprise us (“I’m gonna plead the fifth.”), and how he’d rank the following leading ladies on most to least favorite to work with: Selma Blair, Lindsay Lohan, Jenny McCarthy, and Heather Locklear.
Locklear was his favorite, followed by Lohan — “Lindsay’s a trip — she’s work, but she’s cool. She’s fun to look at,” Sheen said. About Blair and McCarthy, he said, “I would like to kind of mash those two up together and then kick them to the curb. They deserve each other.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Sheen also talked smack about his Ferris Bueller’s Day Off co-star Jennifer Grey: “Talk about a nose job ruining a career.”
Sigh.
6. Chelsea Handler called Angelina Jolie a “demon”
Talk show host and comedian Chelsea Handler has made no bones about being Team Aniston and has continually called out Angelina Jolie for being a devil woman and homewrecker (to the point where she gleefully celebrated the Pitt-Jolie divorce announcement on her show).
“She seems like a demon,” Handler told Cohen. “It has nothing to do with Jennifer [Aniston]. As a woman, I know when you see somebody walking across the room that’s a bad girl. I just don’t like Angelina Jolie. I don’t think she’s a girl’s girl. I like girl’s girls!”
Tell us how you really feel, Chelsea!
7. Susan Sarandon called Debra Messing “uninformed” and “Trumpian”
As last year’s election cycle proved, Susan Sarandon and Debra Messing don’t see eye to eye — and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. The two routinely go after one another on Twitter, and as Sarandon revealed to Cohen, she and Messing have had the opportunity to discuss their differences in person but haven’t.
“I’m a huge Rangers fan, and I’ve been to a couple of games, and she’s been there,” Sarandon revealed. “And she’s never said anything to me in person.”
“So it’s only online?” Cohen pressed.
With a laugh: “Sometimes she just first throws it out there and doesn’t say it to me directly, and then I find out about it. You know, I just think she … she’s just not well informed. And so sometimes she gets in areas that she really hasn’t thought through. Maybe she’s Trumpian, a little bit.”
Sarandon went on to say she has nothing against Messing personally. Cohen tells her it’s an unlikely feud, which is what makes it fun — and we’re inclined to agree.
8. Naomi Campbell claimed she had no beef with Rihanna
Supermodel Naomi Campbell’s feuds and fights have been legendary — she’s battled with Tyra Banks and has thrown a cellphone at her maid’s head, but more recently, rumors suggested the runway beauty had been sparring with another high-fashion hottie: Rihanna. The proof? The two stopped following each other on social media. So when Cohen asked her if everything was OK between them, her response seemed to speak volumes to catfight-thirsty fans.
“Everything’s fine,” she said crisply, a slight smile playing at her lips. And when even RuPaul couldn’t stifle his laughter at Campbell’s delivery, she reiterated, “Of course it’s fine.” But that same cat-got-the-canary demeanor remained as she added, “I’m an actress now, Andy.”
When Cohen pushed her on the issue, Campbell insisted that everything was sunshine and roses. “I don’t have beef,” she stated. “And I don’t have beef especially with black women who are powerful and out there. We’re all in the same thing, doing the same struggle.”
Sometimes it’s what the celebs don’t tell Cohen that says everything.
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