Andy Cohen has had to learn where the “line” is on personal questions

Andy Cohen has a unique job on Bravo TV: he’s the host and executive producer of Watch What Happens Live and the Real Housewives franchise reunions. Considering the fact that the drama between cast members is what viewers tune in to see, Cohen has to find a balance between asking tough questions that will get to the heart of the drama and get viewers the answers they want while not being too invasive or personal.

Now, while speaking to Today, Andy Cohen has opened up about the way that in his nearly two decades on Bravo TV, he’s learned how to walk the line between questions viewers will love and questions that cross the line.

In the interview, he spoke about the way that going too far and asking questions that fans feel were invasive or just unnecessary has taught him how to toe the line between juicy gossip and cruel questioning.

"I think that sometimes when you do or say something that gets picked up everywhere, it’s initially very jarring. It’s scary. So I think I’ve gotten way better at knowing what the line is. And I think it’s from sometimes getting burned."

One of the recent “burns” came when Cohen asked RHONJ‘s Dolores Catania had started taking Ozempic for her recent weight loss.  The backlash came when social media users responded to the episode by pointing out that at the time of the episode, Ozempic and other similar medications were listed as being in a shortage, and due to the fact that users called Andy Cohen complimenting Catania for “looking thin” as triggering.

For Cohen, this was a lesson learned and he said that when he brings up weight loss to any Real Housewives stars or other celebrities now, he’s more careful about what he says. He told Today his takeaway from the criticism was: “Don’t pat someone on the back for being thin, because what you’re then doing is perpetuating a false narrative about beauty, and that’s not right.”

Even though Andy Cohen has had his fair share of stumbles and pushback from fans and guests alike, he shared that he’s proud of the work he’s done on Bravo TV and said that he’s had more positive feedback than negative.

On his experiences with hosting reality shows on Bravo TV, Cohen said, “I’ve had guests really get mad at me, but I’ve also had many a Kardashian say, ‘I’m so glad we talked about that.'”