Leah McSweeney has broken her silence on the lawsuit she recently filed against Bravo and Andy Cohen.
In a podcast interview, the reality television star said she has nothing but “good intentions” for coming forward with her truth.
Fans will recall that McSweeney’s truth includes allegations that producers of “The Real Housewives of New York” cultivate a toxic work environment that promotes alcohol consumption among staff.
Leah McSweeney Claims She Has No Evil Agenda Despite Her Lawsuit Drama
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McSweeney appeared in Wednesday’s episode of American Addiction Centers’ “Addiction Talk,” addressing her ongoing legal battle against Cohen.
The 41-year-old opened the conversation by revealing that she has been “doing great” amidst the scandal, maintaining her focus on her “program,” attending “meetings,” and surrounding herself with “sober friends.”
After reemphasizing that she is “in a really good place right now,” McSweeney expressed confidence that everything will ultimately work out in her favor despite facing off against a formidable entity that previously dismissed her claims. In her words:
“As hard as it is to be going up against a very powerful entity, and for people to maybe also just not agree with me or, you know, come at me and get blowback and all the things, I don’t care, because this is the truth. I have it on my side and my intentions are really good.”
McSweeney added that she constantly reflects on her intentions by applying the lessons she has “learned in recovery about intention” and self-assessment.
Internet Trolls Struck A Nerve With Their Comments
Elsewhere in the interview, the ex-Bravo star addressed the criticism she’s encountered from fans of the Housewives franchise in recent weeks, particularly following Cohen’s demand that she retract her “false, offensive” accusations.
Touching on the remarks targeted at her on social media, she explained, “Even when you’re in a really good place, it still hurts. It’s still not an enjoyable experience to have people coming at you or be dealing with the situation that I’m in.”
McSweeney further noted, “It’s a deeply ingrained thing to push back on women when they’re like, ‘This wasn’t a good experience for me.’ I’m not trying to personally offend people who like watching these shows by saying, ‘This wasn’t a good experience for me.’”
McSweeney’s Representative Came To Her Defense
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The fashion designer’s publicist previously addressed the backlash, emphasizing that her client’s sole aim was to seek justice for her situation.
As mentioned above, McSweeney’s lawsuit accused “RHONY” producers of exploiting her struggles with alcohol for ratings and asserted that Cohen fostered a dysfunctional behind-the-scenes atmosphere at Bravo.
There were also claims of Cohen engaging “in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs” and his “proclivity for cocaine usage with his employees is well-known throughout the Real Housewives franchise” in the filing.
Considering that some Housewives have already denied the claims, McSweeney’s representative cleared their by saying:
“Leah has never claimed to speak for anyone else. She filed this lawsuit based on her own lived experiences. The claims in Leah’s lawsuit are about Leah’s experiences at Bravo and Leah’s experiences only. She’s not attempting to tell anyone else’s truth, but she won’t let anyone deny her truth either.”
Cohen’s Lawyers Asked Leah McSweeney To Retract Her Words
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Regarding the demand for McSweeney to retract her statements, The Blast reported that Cohen’s legal representative sent the directive in a direct rebuttal to the accusation of the producer’s alleged cocaine use.
“To be clear: these allegations are categorically false. Mr. Cohen never used cocaine with any cast member on any Real Housewives show or with any other Bravo employee. The absence of any reasonable basis to make such allegations is confirmed by your pleading itself,” they wrote.
Continuing, they declared that “Litigation cannot be used to create fake news. And it cannot be used as a vehicle to spread false and malicious lies, in furtherance of a shakedown,” before instructing:
“We demand that you issue an immediate public retraction and apologize to Mr. Cohen. Every day you fail to do so only increases the damages suffered by Mr. Cohen.”
Another Housewife Accused Cohen Of Sexual Harassment
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Another challenge facing Cohen is the legal letter another “Real Housewives” star, Brandi Glanville, penned, alleging that he sexually harassed her.
The former model depicted that a seemingly intoxicated Cohen expressed a desire to sleep with another cast member while thinking about her and even invited her to watch over FaceTime. As partly contained in the letter:
“Mr. Cohen was Ms. Glanville’s boss at the time and exercised complete and total control over her career. This was an extraordinary abuse of power that left Ms. Glanville feeling trapped and disgusted. It is inconceivable that Mr. Cohen remains in his post in spite of this behavior and harkens back to the bad old days of Matt Lauer and NBC News when profits were prioritized over people.”
Cohen has since refuted the notion, admitting via social media that he was just “a joke.”