'Below Deck’ Backlash! Andy Cohen Defends Question About Courtney & Brian Going Out
Feb. 19 2020, Published 9:09 p.m. ET
Andy Cohen finally confessed that he wished he hadn’t asked the crude question that ended the Below Deck reunion after he was ripped for the query.
He told a caller on his Sirius XM radio show on Wednesday that he wished he hadn’t asked Courtney Skippon if she and Brian de Saint Pern were going out together after the taping, but he explained his thinking behind the move.
“Here’s the deal with that question,” Cohen said. “Do I wish I hadn’t asked it? Of course.”
He set up the scene. “I made a joke to her where I said, ‘are you and Brian going to hang out tonight?’
“The reason I did that is…We have had Southern Charm reunions, we have had Below Deck reunions where people hated each other, horrible things, and then they all go out that night and they get drunk.
“And I come into work the next day and they’re like, ‘Guess who hooked up last night?’ And I’m like, you’re kidding me! You’re kidding me. Like, how is that possible?”
He said that was his explanation.
“So, that’s why I asked that question. Do I wish I had not asked it? Of course,” Cohen confessed.
“I understand how it came off. That’s why I asked that question. But yes, I got it,” he said about the intense backlash.
Scroll through the gallery to hear Andy’s mea culpa after the rude Below Deck reunion question.
Listen To Andy
“I’M NOT SORRY,” Courtney Tweeted after the reunion aired.
Team Guys
A different called supported Cohen, defending how he supported them men on the boat. “Everyone kind of behaved like a**holes at one point or another. And the point of the reunion is for both sides to say what they have to say.”
Dudes Behaving Badly
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Cohen did agree that the men on the show behaved badly. “So, I just want to say do I think the guys behaved horribly? Yes, of course. You can’t kiss someone who doesn’t want to be kissed. Or talk about slapping someone with your d**k. And people are really upset specifically with Ashton Pienaar.”
His Words
Brian posted a simple message after the reunion and did not address the controversy. “So it's finally over ? What a Rollercoaster ride that was,” he wrote. “To all my fans , you are all legends in my eyes, much LOVE! ❤️?? To everyone else..... Guess you can't please them all but keep watching and supporting the show, I still Appriciate you?.”
Standing Strong
“There are so many messages discounting my feelings and my value because of *the guest cabin*,” Courtney Tweeted in her own defense. “It’s an interesting attempt to shame me for being an adult woman who has sex. I say “attempt” because I am an adult woman who has sex and for that I will not be made to feel shameful.”
Dragged
Actor Leslie Jones ripped into Andy on her Twitter account, but Cohen admitted that he didn’t look at what she posted. “If you knew someone was reading you for filth, would you watch?” he said on his radio show.