Watch Anderson Cooper Take Shots With Andy Cohen During CNN New Year’s Eve Broadcast

CNN hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen went back to drinking on the air to close out 2023, and fans celebrated along with them. The two took several shots of liquor together during the CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live after abstaining in 2022. A fan-made video shows a highlight reel of all their drinks throughout the night.

The video shows Cooper and Cohen taking a shot together just after 8 p.m. ET, with Times Square in the background. They take another one about an hour later, reacting to the harsh flavor again. Less than ten minutes after that they speak with a guest drinking out of a brown paper back, and at around 10 p.m. they clink shot glasses once again. The video shows them giggling through an interview with Neil Patrick Harris just before 10 p.m., and finally, they are show taking one more shot at 11 p.m. ET. These clips really put into perspective Cooper’s reaction to John Mayer, who called in from a cat cafe at around 11:15 p.m. ET.

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Cohen and Cooper’s New Year’s Eve drinking habit has become a matter of public interest in recent years. It’s no surprise that many broadcasters have a celebratory drink or two on New Year’s Eve, and when Cohen took the job at CNN in 2017, he did the same. However, in 2021 Cohen caused some serious backlash with some on-air comments, including a tirade against former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Cohen also bashed the rival broadcast on ABC News, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and its host Ryan Seacrest. he referred to the celebration as “Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers that are performing behind us,” and many viewers thought it went beyond good-natured ribbing. All in all, many viewers were put off by the stunt, feeling that Cohen had over-indulged. Cohen himself seemed to agree, tweeting the next morning: I was a hair over-served last night, but man did I have fun! I hope you did too.”

On the other hand, some fans thought that CNN over-corrected in 2022. The network announced that “on-air personnel” would not be allowed to drink during the next New Year’s Eve broadcast, and Cohen and Cooper did not. However, Cohen did promise to “party harder than ever before.”

After that, Cohen seemed to feel that he had made up for his slip-up. In November at BravoCon, Cohen said that he hoped CNN would change its rule, but if not, he would be drinking anyway. He said: “Hopefully, I will not be sneaking it in… I haven’t heard anything yet, but come on, they need to let us drink. It’s New Year’s Eve. That didn’t go well last year in terms of viewer happiness about us drinking. People really cared and I hope CNN gives the people what they want… Give the daddies some juice.”