Andy Cohen Denies Claims Real Housewives of New York City Alum Leah McSweeney Made in New Lawsuit

Andy Cohen denied the claims he made The Real Housewives of New York alum Leah McSweeney in a civil suit filed earlier this week.

McSweeney, 41, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, obtained by PEOPLE, alleging Real Housewives executive producer, 55, and Bravo facilitated a “rotten” workplace culture where employees were pressured to consume alcohol. However, a day later, Cohen’s rep shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter denying the charges.

“The allegations against Andy are completely false,” the rep said Watch what’s happening live the presenter reportedly said THR on Wednesday.

PEOPLE has reached out to Cohen for comment.

In addition to Cohen and Bravo Media, the lawsuit also names NBC Universal Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, production company Shed Media US and producers John Paparazzo, Lisa Shannon and Darren Ward.

Andy Cohen.

Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

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McSweeney — who joined RHONY in 2019 for two seasons and appeared in the third season The Real Housewives: Ultimate GirlsTrip — alleges in the filing that the defendants failed to maintain a safe work environment and accommodate her disabilities, including an “alcohol use disorder” and “mental health disorders.” Representatives for Cohen, Bravo, Shed and Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s initial request for comment on McSweeney’s allegations.

The fashion designer claims in the filing that she told producers she suffers from an alcohol addiction disorder and was sober for nine years until a brief comeback before filming season 12 RHONY, but she revealed that she wants to get sober. She further alleges in the lawsuit that the producers interfered with her efforts to remain sober by “deliberately planning scenarios that were intended to aggravate [her] disability,” all in an effort to “create morbidly depraved reality television.”

McSweeney also accuses Cohen of engaging in “cocaine with the Housewives and other ‘Bravolebrities’ he employs” and providing “favorable treatment and grooming” to those with whom he allegedly used the substance.

Leah McSweeney and Andy Cohen.

John Nacion/WireImage; Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

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According to The Hollywood Reporterthe source also denied the claim that Cohen “does cocaine with any Housewife,” calling it “outrageous.”

The outlet also reports that a source close to the franchise’s production claimed that McSweeney is in talks for the role RHONY: Legacy but she was ultimately not cast in the ensemble, given her short stint in the series. A production source told THR, “If she had gotten the Legacy role she wanted, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The Married to the Mob founder has also since shared a lengthy statement about her decision to file a civil suit. On Tuesday, she posted a carousel on Instagram with the caption: “In my words…”

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She wrote: “This is not the story I thought I would tell; in fact, I was petrified to talk about it and warned not to.”

After reiterating the nature of the suit and how personal it was, as well as how the incidents were staged for television, McSweeney also wrote about her intentions with the suit.

“I have love and respect for a lot of Bravo talent and getting to know them has been a positive experience in all of this,” she continued. “I may be their pariah after this, but I hope my lawsuit helps reality TV align with its true purpose: authentically portraying the complexities of life while offering genuine support to those who share their stories.”

“I’ve been trying to resolve this internationally for years now, but I’ve been rejected, fenced off and gaslighted (but actually) at every turn since. Bravo can try to manipulate my reality and the reality of others all they want, but the cold hard facts of this case are real as much as they can be,” the statement concludes.

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