The Real Housewives of New York City alum Dorinda Medley is confused by her former costar Leah McSweeney’s lawsuit again Andy Cohen.
“I just didn’t understand it at all,” Medley, 59, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, April 2, while promoting her partnership with Clorox. “I mean, listen, I was there [at Bravo] for six years. … I’ve always worked very well with production in every city. And for me, it was work and I had a lawyer. I read the contract, I signed, I did my work and I left. So, I was very surprised by all that.”
McSweeney, 41, who appeared on seasons 12 and 13 of RHONY, sued Cohen, 55, and Bravo in February, claiming that Cohen and the network intentionally used her struggle with alcoholism for ratings.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, McSweeney claimed that she’d been pressured to drink on the show despite disclosing that she was actively working to maintain her sobriety. She further alleged that Cohen “engaged in cocaine use” with members of The Real Housewives franchises.
Cohen called the claims “completely false” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter last month. A response from his lawyer sent to McSweeney’s legal team, which was obtained by Page Six on March 7, said he had “never used cocaine” with any Bravo employees.
Medley told Us on Tuesday that, in her experience, Real Housewives stars don’t spend much time with Cohen.
“I don’t really see Andy,” she said. “It’s not like we hung out with Andy. That’s the weird part of it.”
Medley, who starred on seasons 7-12 of RHONY, acknowledged that she’s “not going to live in a fantasy and say” that working on reality television is “always perfect.” However, she’s “always had a positive ongoing relationship with my production people.”
Medley is not the first Real Housewives star to speak out in defense of Cohen. Luann de Lesseps, Margaret Josephs and Guerdy Abraira are among the others who have spoken positively about their experience with the television producer in the wake of the lawsuit.
McSweeney’s lawyer, Gary Adelman, reacted to the support for Cohen in a statement to Us last month.
“There are more lawsuits coming and there are more people who are going to speak out,” Adelman said. “It doesn’t matter what people say or think — that Andy’s a good guy, or that you should expect to drink, or that you should expect this behavior.”
While McSweeney has spoken out against Bravo, Medley would love to do another season of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: RHONY Legacy with the network. The first installment debuted in December 2023.
“What I’d really love to see is another sort of Legacy somewhere on a boat, somewhere different,” she told Us. “I think Legacy on a Below Deck boat would be hysterical.”
Medley would also like to see the new RHONY cast — Sai De Silva, Erin Lichy, Jenny Lyons, Brynn Whitfield, Jessel Taank and Ubah Hassan — come for a stay at her home in Western Massachusetts, Bluestone Manor.
“Maybe one of the other [OG] girls would be there [too],” she said, mentioning de Lesseps, 58. “That would be fun.”
Medley’s love of entertaining at Bluestone Manor made her the perfect candidate for a partnership with Clorox. She told Us that the home takes “six people” and “two days” to thoroughly clean.
“I don’t care how clean your house is. You need to remove everything, wipe everything down, refresh it, and also get rid of all the things that accumulate,” she said. “If I’m cooking or something spills in the refrigerator, that’s all wiped up right away. … We go through more Clorox wipes than anyone. … If you stay on top of it, especially at the country house, [the mess will] never get ahead of you.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
