Ryan Seacrest Reacts to Andy Cohen's New Year's Eve Shade Last Year
Ryan Seacrest is all for Andy Cohen consuming less alcohol on this year's New Year's Eve broadcast on CNN — especially after Cohen threw some shade toward Seacrest's ABC broadcast last year. Seacrest recently reacted to CNN's decision to block anchors from drinking during the network's New Year's Eve show, telling Entertainment Weekly this week that he doesn't "advocate drinking when one is on the air." He called CNN's decision to not allow anchors to drink alcohol this year is "good idea" — although Cohen told PopCulture.com he won't be ringing in the New Year sober.
"I don't know how that started as a tradition, but it's probably a good idea [to scale back], CNN." Seacrest said "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. Although the viewers probably wish they would drink more."
Seacrest then suggested alcohol was likely responsible for Cohen's jab at his show during CNN's 2022 New Year's Eve show. During the broadcast, Cohen told CNN viewers that the smoke behind him and co-host Anderson Cooper came from "Ryan Seacrest's group of losers that are performing behind us." He then said anyone watching ABC's New Year's Eve show had "seen nothing." On the first 2022 episode of his SiriusXM show, Cohen said he regretted the comment, adding that he was "just stupid and drunk and feeling it" at the time. CNN also said in a statement that they "addressed" the situation with Cohen and were planning to bring him back for future New Year's Eve broadcasts.
The American Idol host believes Cohen never would have made the comment in the first place if he hadn't been drinking. "I think our show's a bigger, broader show and we will not drink until 1:05 in the morning," Seacrest told EW. "Although, I might send them some Casa Dragones Tequila just to tempt them while they're on the air."
In November, new CNN chief Chris Licht announced during a town hall discussion with CNN staffers that there will be no drinking during the New Year's Eve broadcast, reports Variety. Licht told employees he believed the drinking damaged the "respectability" they enjoy among viewers. Last week, CNN confirmed that Cohen and Cooper will host the New Year's Eve show from Times Square, starting at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. It's unclear if Don Lemon, the source of many infamous drunk moments, will be returning, although Cohen made it clear to us that he and Cooper will be allowed to drink while on the air.
He told PopCulture.com, "People thought that I wasn't going to be drinking. I'm like, 'have you met me?' I will be drinking responsibly on New Year's Eve, but I will be leaning into the spirit of the night as I always do." While the Bravo personality stressed that he and Cooper would be drinking responsibly during the night, he did note that he understands the sentiment behind the report. "I'm glad that they make an exception for Anderson because I think people enjoy watching me do shots with him and him react to doing shots," Cohen added. "He's kind of a lightweight, he's not a natural drinker. And so I think it's always a journey for people to see him responding to my level of enjoyment."
Meanwhile, Seacrest will host Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023 for ABC. The broadcast starts at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. Billy Porter, Ciara, D-Nice, Jessie James Decker, and Liza Koshy will introduce performances from other venues across the country.