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Andy Cohen has a lot of reasons to celebrate these days.
(The premiere also featured a booty call from his BFF Sarah Jessica Parker.)
When you first started the show, did you think it would last this long?I didnt.
I rememberGawker calling it, like, a masturbatory talk show.
I believe I wrote that about your talk show on Gawker, so …Oh my God, Brian!
You asshole!Well, guess what?
So there you go.
Well, I apologize.
When you first started doing the show, you still had a normal nine-to-five job at Bravo.
Ive always burned the candle at both ends, but that was really intense.
Looking back on it now, Im surprised that I was able to do both.
That was a great relief.
Youve gone through some big life changes with thebirth of your son.
Just leave the baby at home to fend for himself.Yeah, exactly.
Im like, Ill be at work.
Im looking at you on the nanny cam.
If you wake up, theres a bottle of milk next to the crib.
Youve gotten very good at asking guests uncomfortable questions.
We dont preinterview our guests.
Were the only live show in late night, so we want it to be spontaneous.
The viewers can smell BS.
I always want the guests to leave happy, and I want them to come back.
I dont want it to be a gotcha situation.
Youve had Lady Gaga, youve had Oprah, youve had all sorts of huge people.
Who were you the most nervous about interviewing?No question, it wasOprah.
Thats how deep my fandom goes.
It was a very big deal and I was really nervous.
I wanted to give her a different interview then she had done.
That was my challenge, and I remain really proud of that episode.
As a kid growing up, when she would sub for Carson, that was like Christmas for me.
So then, all those years later for her to come on the show, it meant a lot.
Gosh, Katy Perry, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Obama, Madonna.
Heralbums out, Andy!
What are you doing?Im doing everything and Im getting ignored.
You mentioned your favorite guests.
Who were the awful ones?We havent had that many.
When Amber Rose was on, she wore sunglasses.
She was not up for my tomfoolery.
I remember asking her questions and she was like, I dont want to talk about that.
I dont want to talk about that.
It was not a good fit.
I just dont think it was the show for her.
Ive spoken before about Jillian Michaels leaving very pissed off and I never figured out why.
I dont think Gillian Anderson had a good time on the show.
I dont know why, but I remember feeling like,Oh God, she didnt like that.
They tell them when were playing Plead the Fifth.
Weve never given a Plead the Fifth question to a guest ahead of time and many have asked.
Again, we want them to be comfortable.
In the spirit ofWatch What Happens Live, I asked Twitter for questions for our interview.
Thats gone away, thankfully.
There have been times where they wanted to come on alone, and thats gone away as well.
Ramona [Singer] used to be very demanding in early days.
I think we had a come to Jesus after she and [her ex-husband] Mario split up.
She and I had a little sit down in my office.
Are the Housewives excited when they come on the show?
How do most of them feel?It really depends on whats going on with them on the show.
Dorit is someone who gets really unfairly hammered on social media.
Shes gotten an unfair rap.
So when she comes on, shes a little on edge.
Im not going to do a Lisa rebuttal show.
Her time to say her peace was at the reunion, and she gave up that opportunity.
I certainly didnt realize that that would remain one of the most-talked-about moments on the show.
The same thing happened whenJackee and Regina King got shit-faced on the show.
They were trending worldwide on social media.
Thats another one of the questions!During the commercial break, I was like, Oh my God.
I didnt have control of the show.
I was not leaning into the mess, so to speak.
So thats what I learned from both of those.
Weve certainly had many more things go off the rails, and I lean into it way more.
Im just better at my job.
If you do say so yourself.Ive been doing live television for ten years.
If Im not better at my job, then Im fucked.
Next one isBrandi Glanville throwing wine on Jeff Lewis.That remains one of the weirdest nights.
I still dont understand what happened there.
He thought they were playing and she thought they were serious.
Nobody wound up looking good.
I was upset that night.
I was not happy at all.
Brandi is unfiltered, for better or for worse.
I still dont even know what the resolution was.
TheNight of 31 Doorbells?That was incredible.
Part ofBravo Concame out of the idea of that doorbell show.
That was basically our You get a car!
show for the audience, because every time the doorbell rang, the audience lost their minds.
It was absolutely incredible.
What about whenPatti LuPone shaded Madonna?That was amazing.
Again, that goes towards me leaning into the craziness.
I listen way better now than I used to.
She gave me an opening and we kept going.
It was something else.
Did we ever figure out who it was?
We were all racking our brains.
The internet narrowed it down to two people: Mike the Miz Mizanin and Adam Larson.Wow, go internet.
I think some endorphin is released within me when people spill tea, literally.
I feel like its what Im meant to be doing, in some weird way.
I relish every opportunity for more information.
They were like just off a plane, they forgot the words, and it was bad.
It was not good.
I couldnt believe it.
Im trying to think.
Heres the problem: A bad Housewives performance is a great Housewives performance because its amazing television.
Likewhen Danielle Staub sang.That tortured lesbian lullaby was the most iconic Housewives performance ever.
Sonja did a caburlesque when we were live from South by Southwest that was …
I guess they had rehearsed.
It was not the best, but it was memorable.
We have dressed him up in every variety of costume and put him behind the bar.
Hes a great guy and a great kid, so he would be on the list too.
Its funny that our mascot is a gay shark.
It happened so many years before Katy Perrys halftime show.
We thought Katy Perry was ripping us off.
Maybe its because were so insecure that we think someones going to do it better.
In year two or three of the show, I had been invited to the South of France.
Andy should take vacation more often.
Brian, I did not like that feeling.
I did not like how that felt.
If I did, I would say Jerry OConnell, Chrissy Teigen, or Jeff Lewis.
Andy Cohen, it is time.
I have three questions for you, and you’re free to pass on only one of them.
It is time for you to PLEAD.
Are you ready?Yes.
Say three nice things about Kathy Griffin.Shes funny … shes funny.
Shes funny, shes passionate, and … her mom is hilarious.
In ten years, there have been a couple of guests who I have dated in the past.
Would you like to tell us who?John Benjamin Hickey and Lance Bass.
Fair enough.Let it be noted that I did not plead the fifth.
