Andy Cohen Slams 'Stupid' Alcohol Ban On New Year's Eve: 'How Is That Paying Off For CNN?'

Andy Cohen has slammed CNN for their "stupid" alcohol ban at their annual New Year's Eve telecast.

The "Real Housewives" showrunner and his co-host, Anderson Cooper, were barred from taking any alcohol while hosting after Cohen made an intemperate remark at Ryan Seacrest.

While speaking with Howard Stern on his radio show, Cohen called out the network, claiming that people come up to him on the street, telling him they hope the web allows them to drink for this year's event.

Keep on reading to learn more.

During Andy Cohen's recent appearance on "The Howard Stern" radio show, host Howard Stern, brought up the topic of CNN's annual New Year's Eve telecast and how he enjoyed seeing Cohen and Anderson Cooper get "blasted."

Stern said, "Now, part of the fun, in my opinion of you on New Year's Eve, were you getting blasted and saying ridiculous things." 

To this, Cohen interjected, saying, "Well, that's everybody... People want to see me make Anderson giggle, and they love to see him do shots."

Cohen then talked about last year's telecast and how they had to work around not having any alcohol so that they could put on a great show.

He said, "We were silly, we did mystery shots, we did everything we could. I mean, we were doing shots of pickle juice and trying to guess what it was." 

The "Watch What Happens Live" host added, "We did what we could, we did everything we could to get around it, but it was just, yeah, it was a stupid move."

While still on the topic of CNN's New Year's Eve telecast, Cohen claimed that people come up to him to ask if he and Cooper would be allowed to drink for this year's event.

He told Stern, "People say to me today when I walk down the street, 'Please tell me they're going to let you drink this year.'" 

Cohen added that their guests at the last New Year's Eve also thought the restriction on alcohol was a stupid move by the network.

"We had Kevin Hart! He did like four minutes live on New Year's Eve about how stupid CNN was not to let us drink, so how is that paying off for CNN?" the show host stated.

CNN banned alcohol during the New Year's Eve telecast after Cohen dissed Ryan Seacrest live while seemingly drunk. 

Per Variety, Cohen referred to "New Year's Rockin' Eve" as "Ryan Seacrest's group of losers that are performing behind us," adding, "I mean, with all due [respect], if you've been watching ABC tonight, you've seen nothing. I'm sorry."

Many viewers did not receive Cohen's remarks well, leading to the network announcing that they would be scaling back on the drinking on the popular yearly telecast. 

The Bravo showrunner initially stated that the alcohol ban did not affect him or Cooper, claiming that CNN only referred to "correspondents" and not "hosts."

"Anderson and I will be the people partying on CNN, [though] we will be partying responsibly," Cohen said at the time. "My job is to take Anderson out of his comfort zone, [and] my job is to be a party ringleader for everyone watching us on New Year's Eve, And that is what I will continue to do. And as a matter of fact: If the correspondents are not drinking this year, I will be partying even harder on their behalf."

Cohen later conceded to the network's alcohol ban and hosted the annual show for his sixth consecutive time.

"American Idol" host Seacrest revealed that he agreed with the move to scale back the drinking while on air. He told Entertainment Weekly that he "doesn't advocate drinking when one is on the air," adding that he didn't "know how that started as a tradition, but it's probably a good idea [to cut back], CNN."

On his Sirius XM radio show, Cohen admitted that dissing Seacrest and slamming the ABC broadcast was not a bright idea.

He said, per Variety, "The only thing that I regret saying, the only thing is that I slammed the ABC broadcast, and I like Ryan Seacrest, and he's a great guy." Cohen added, "And I regret saying that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it."

It's yet to be seen if CNN plans on lifting or, at least, easing the restriction on alcohol for this year's New Year's Eve telecast.