Bravo: Andy Cohen doesn’t make the decision to fire people

Andy Cohen is obviously a huge part of Bravo, but he isn’t the only person making decisions behind the scenes over there.

After the initial news dies down of a big Bravo star getting fired, the rumors start flying around about why.  Why were they fired?  Why now?  Why did Andy Cohen not like Dorinda Medley?  But we often forget that Andy isn’t Bravo.  Andy doesn’t control the hiring or firing decisions on the shows anymore, and he certainly doesn’t fire people off the bat for personal reasons.

Bravo is a huge conglomeration with thousands of employees, owned by an even bigger conglomeration, NBCUniversal.  These employees include people like Andy, but also higher-ups, production, the housewives themselves, editors, people who arrange craft services for the reunions, hair, makeup, and everyone in between!  Even the limo drivers that take the ladies home when they’ve had too much rosé!

The rumors about why Dorinda was fired frequently cite that Andy felt one way or another about something she said.  This week it happened to be the turkey baster comment she tossed in Tinsley Mortimer’s face.  “I’ve got a turkey baster — maybe try and have a baby,” she said while at dinner with the Real Housewives of New York group.  Page Six said that was the “last straw” for Andy and he made the decision to fire her shortly after.

So when Page Six posted the article about Dorinda’s turkey comment to their Instagram, Andy simply commented under the post and said, “This is not true.”  Did Sonja Morgan sell this story to Page Six?

According to his own Wikipedia page, Andy was the executive vice president of Development and Talent for Bravo until 2013.  He’s still an executive producer for Housewives, Watch What Happens Live, and his SiriusXM show, Andy Cohen Live.  But Andy didn’t wake up one day and say, “Dorinda is done.”

It was a decision made over time, with many opinions involved, and many processes put in place so irrational decisions don’t get made over someone’s bad day.  Obviously this isn’t to say that Andy has no input on the matter, but he isn’t the one making the final call.  His opinion on matters is probably respected and sought out regularly.

So if your favorite Bravo star was fired, don’t blame Andy entirely!  You can blame him a little, but the decision is ultimately not up to him.  If you want someone fired, though, feel free to tweet him to let him know.  And tweet us while you’re at it, too!

Bravo, Bravo…silly Bravo!