Andy Cohen "absolutely" supports Bravo’s decision to fire Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute from ‘Vanderpump Rules’ due to past incidents of racism.
The 52-year-old host and executive producer of the network’s late night talk show, ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’, insisted that whilst he is "not in charge" and has "no say in firing and hiring", he fully backs the move to cut the 31-year-old TV star and Kristen, 37, from the reality show following the accusations of racism.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, he said: "There’s so much happening in the Bravo universe. I will say this: so much talk about ‘Vanderpump Rules’ and then of course the reunion ended up airing last night.
"I will say this about what happened. I absolutely support Bravo’s decision, I think it was the right decision.
"And I want to remind people because I’ve been getting so many tweets and messages and whatever about ‘Vanderpump Rules’ and about ‘Southern Charm’ and other shows. I am not, I don’t – I feel like I remind people this all the time – I’m not in charge of programming at Bravo anymore.
"I am not an Executive Producer of ‘Vanderpump Rules’.
"I don’t have anything to do with the show except I love it and that I host the reunions.
"I don’t produce the show so what I want people to know is I have no say in hiring and firing."
Bosses of the series took the decision to axe the pair after Faith Stowers, who previously appeared sporadically on the show, accused the two stars of having behaved in a racist way towards her.
During a recent chat on Instagram Live, Faith – who is the only black woman to appear on the show – recalled an incident in 2018 when the duo called the police to report her for crimes she didn’t commit.
Speaking earlier this month, she explained: "There was this article on Daily Mail where there was an African American lady.
"It was a weird photo, so she looked very light-skinned and had these different, weird tattoos. They showcased her, and I guess this woman was robbing people. And they called the cops and said it was me.
"This is like, a true story. I heard this from actually Stassi during an interview."
Stassi, 31, admitted to calling the police during a podcast, and Kristen even tweeted a link to the article.
She wrote: "hey tweeties, doesn’t this ex #pumprules thief look familiar? someone put her on mtv & gave her a platform for press. I didn’t wanna go there but I’m going there. (sic)"
Stassi issued an apology on her Instagram account.
Her post read: "What I did to Faith was wrong. I apologize and I do not expect forgiveness. I am also sorry to anyone else that feels disappointed in me. I am going to continue to look closer at myself and my actions – to take the time to listen, to learn, and to take accountability for my own privilege. (sic)"
Whilst Kristen also expressed her regret online.
She wrote on Instagram: "Although, my actions were not racially driven, I am now completely aware of how my privilege blinded me from the reality of law enforcement’s treatment of the black community, and how dangerous my actions could have been to her. (sic)"
Kristen later added: "I’m ashamed, embarrassed, and incredibly sorry."
Meanwhile, new cast members of the show, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni, have also been axed after racist tweets from their past reappeared online.