Ryan Seacrest and Andy Cohen wave off ‘funny’ rumors of a New Year’s Eve feud
Ryan Seacrest and Andy Cohen are waving off rumors that they have been feuding since New Year’s Eve.
During Thursday‘s episode of “On Air With Ryan Seacrest,” the pair cleared the air and confirmed there is no beef between them.
“I like watching people fight, I don’t like fighting with people,” said Cohen, who called into Seacrest’s radio show.
“Well we’re not,” Seacrest responded. “That’s the funny thing, is that we’re not.”
Ryan Seacrest commended CNN for cutting down on drinking during its annual New Year’s Eve coverage. “I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air,” he said.
Rumors of the alleged dispute swirled when Seacrest told “Live” co-host Kelly Ripa that Cohen didn’t turn around to acknowledge him when he tried to wave prior to their respective New Year’s Eve broadcasts last weekend.
Seacrest leads coverage of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” for ABC, while Cohen co-hosts CNN’s counterpart show with longtime friend Anderson Cooper. Their sets are typically near each other, and the competitors usually exchange pleasantries.
“I thought maybe I was in the shot,” Seacrest said Tuesday on “Live.” “I just wanted to wave and say hi. They have a great show. And Anderson, the best, he turns around and he says, ‘Have a good show.’ Very nice. Andy did not turn around.”
Ripa quickly rebutted, saying that Cohen tried to get Seacrest’s attention.
‘Let’s talk about the elephant in the room,’ Andy Cohen said while co-hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve special with Anderson Cooper. ‘We can’t drink.’
Cohen addressed the alleged snub the following day on his radio show, “Radio Andy.” He called Cooper on to the show to corroborate that the “Real Housewives” host had been talking to show producers on his headset during Cooper and Seacrest’s exchange. “I didn’t see him,” Cohen claimed after blaming Cooper for not letting him know Seacrest had been waving.
Leading up to the alleged snub, the pair had already made catty, passive-aggressive remarks about one another in public. During the previous year’s show, Cohen had roasted ABC’s programming and referred to the “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” lineup as “Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers that are performing behind us.”
Cohen later apologized for the jab.
In December, Seacrest seemingly threw shade of his own in an Entertainment Weekly interview, applauding CNN’s decision to ban its talent from drinking alcohol on-air during the show. Between Cohen, Cooper and Don Lemon, alcohol and boozy banter had become a signature of CNN’s New Year’s broadcasts.
Millions tuned in on TikTok to watch people prank their parents by telling them their favorite celebrity had died. The backlash came soon enough.
“I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air,” Seacrest said in December after the policy change, without naming Cohen. “I don’t know how that started as a tradition, but it’s probably a good idea [to scale back], CNN. There’s some pretty respectable people, or at least one, right? I think there’s a serious journalist and then a friend of mine who has a lot of fun, but it’s probably a good idea.”
Even so, on Seacrest’s radio show Thursday, he and Cohen promised that no ill feelings exist between them. The pair went on to reminisce about their friendship, which stretches back about 15 years.
“It is funny to think that some people think you and I have this thing going on, which isn’t true,” Seacrest said.
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