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Andy Cohen is kicking off the new year by clearing the air.
During his Sirius XM “Radio Andy” show Wednesday, the television host addressed a claim made by “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” host Ryan Seacrest that Cohen ignored his greeting during his CNN New Year’s Eve special with CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper.
Cohen explained he “didn’t see Anderson turn around and wave” at Seacrest during the taping. He later called Cooper on air to confirm that Cooper didn’t notify him of Seacrest’s greeting.
Here’s a breakdown of the back-and-forth between Cohen and Seacrest.
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Cohen said Seacrest has “a bug up about me” during his “Radio Andy” show Wednesday, playing a clip of the “Live with Kelly and Ryan” co-host claiming Cohen “did not turn around” when he waved at Cohen and Cooper during the taping of their New Year’s Eve special.
“I didn’t see Anderson turn around and wave,” Cohen said. “Usually if he’s waving at Ryan, he’ll say to me, ‘Hey, there’s Ryan.’ … And then I’ll turn around and wave, or I’ll say, ‘There’s Ryan,’ but he didn’t do that.”
Cohen then called Cooper on air to clarify the alleged snub. The “Anderson Cooper 360°” host said Cohen was talking to someone else when Cooper and Seacrest greeted each other.
“It all happened so fast it wasn’t a big deal,” Cooper said. “Every year we always say hi to him, so I assumed maybe you had previously and I was just catching up.”
Cooper added: “I’m sorry if that was (a) failing on my part, but I hope that didn’t contribute or anything. I mean, I thought I saw you waving or something.”
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Andy Cohen takes aim at Ryan Seacrest, ‘Dick Clark’ special during New Year’s Eve 2021
During his CNN New Year’s Eve special with Cooper in December 2021, a drunken Cohen took a jab at Seacrest, who was hosting ABC’s rival “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” nearby in Times Square.
“If you look behind me, you’ll see Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers performing,” Cohen said at the time, according to a clip shared on Twitter. “I’m sorry, but if you’re watching ABC, you’re watching nothing.”
During an appearance on his “Radio Andy” show a few days later, Cohen said he attributed his comment to his intoxicated state at the time.
“The only thing that I regret saying, the only thing is that I slammed the ABC broadcast,” Cohen said. “And I really like Ryan Seacrest, and he’s a great guy and I really regret saying that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it.”
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Seacrest applauded CNN in a December 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly for the network’s decision to reportedly reduce drinking on-air for their New Year’s Eve coverage.
“I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air. I don’t know how that started as a tradition, but it’s probably a good idea (to scale back),” Seacrest told the outlet.
According to Variety, CNN’s CEO Chris Licht called for coverage with less booze, saying during a November 2022 town hall that “on-camera drinking eroded the credibility of CNN personnel and damaged the ‘respectability’ they may enjoy among viewers.”
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Seacrest also referenced Cohen’s dig from the previous year, telling EW that “there’s a serious journalist and then a friend of mine who has a lot of fun, but it’s probably a good idea (to reduce alcohol).”
“The viewers probably wish they would drink more,” Seacrest continued. “But I think they had something to say about my show at one point, which was I’m sure from the alcohol because I don’t think they would say what they said about our performers if they weren’t drinking.”
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Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
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