Andy Cohen Opens Up About Kathy Griffin Hating Him: ‘I Get It’
Andy Cohen isn’t sweating his feud with comedian (and former co-worker) Kathy Griffin.
The Watch What Happens Live host discussed their rift — which escalated when he was tapped to host CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live alongside Anderson Cooper after Griffin was fired for posing with a mask of President Donald Trump‘s bloodied head — on Howard Stern‘s SiriusXM show Wednesday.
Griffin, 57, felt blacklisted by Hollywood after the incident but is now headlining a successful comedy tour, aptly named Laugh Your Head Off.
“You know what, by the way, she’s like selling out all these venues,” Cohen, 49, said in the interview. “She’s having a huge — she loves to have a comeback, she loves publicity. Everything’s good for her.”
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“Do you feel used in a way?” asked Stern, 64. “Yes, you got the job on CNN, but why shouldn’t you get that job?”
“You know what, if you put it that way — I got the job on CNN, I’m on Bravo all these hours — I get it. So, hate me. I’ll be that guy for you, if it makes you happy and gives you peace. I’m just not going to take it on,” Cohen said. “I’m at peace. I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
What happened between the two stars? Back in October, Cohen quipped to TMZ that he didn’t know who Griffin was.
Griffin fired back on Twitter, pointing out that the stars have known each other for years. (Her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List, ran for six seasons from 2005-10 on Bravo, where Cohen was previously the head of development.)
“Even when it’s on tape, there are doubters? He is NOT kidding w paps,” she said. “Was my boss for 10 years. Treated me like a dog. Deeply misogynistic.”
The next day, Griffin released a 17-minute long YouTube video titled Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story, targeting both Cohen and TMZ founder Harvey Levin, whom she accused of being complicit in quieting scandals surrounding Harvey Weinstein, claiming both men “honestly just live to take women down.”
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In the video, Griffin alleged Cohen asked her if she wanted to do cocaine before appearances on WWHL. Cohen denied the accusation, tweeting, “I am completely stunned by this story. It is 100% false and totally made up,.”
Of their time working together, a source told PEOPLE that Griffin “used to be the face of Bravo, and she realized he threatened that once he became more of a front-of-the-camera star.”
