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Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper
Andy Cohen is spilling the tea on what it’s like to work with an old friend and colleague Anderson Cooper.
Before SiriusXM’s 10th annual Radio Andy Holiday Hangout (which he co-hosts). Amy Sedaris) in New York on Dec. 19, Cohen, 56, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about his love of radio, his upcoming vacation plans and the most “annoying” part of hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve live with Kuiper, 57.
“Well, (it’s) that I have to be the straight man,” the Bravo host revealed. “Literally, he sits in a puddle of giggles for the last ninety minutes of the broadcast, and I’m the one who makes it to all the commercial breaks.”
“I turn into Mr. CNN for the last 90 minutes, and he turns into Mr. Bravo,” he added. “It’s a very funny role reversal.”
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Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper will present their New Year’s Eve show in New York on December 31, 2023
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The comment came on the heels of Cooper recently revealing his own biggest pet peeve about hosting the NYE show during an appearance on Cohen’s Bravo series Watch what’s happening live.
“Who he’s going to offend and what the aisle 3 cleanup will be tomorrow morning,” Cooper, 57, said during the Dec. 16 episode.
Cooper’s comment — while said lightly — likely refers to an incident in 2021 in which Cohen claims that he served too much alcohol during the live event, insulting a competing New Year’s Eve broadcast on ABC hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Cohen called Seacrest’s show a “batch of losers,” landing him in hot water the next day.
Related: Andy Cohen and Ryan Seacrest Put Their New Year’s Eve Feud to Bed: ‘The Beef Is Squashed’
Talking about the incident a few days later The Howard Stern ShowCohen admitted that he regretted his actions. “I really love Ryan Seacrest and he’s a great guy. I really regret saying that. I was just stupid and drunk and felt it,” he told Stern.
This will be the eighth year in a row that Cohen and Cooper will host the CNN special, and viewers have come to expect — and enjoy — watching the old friends tear each other apart. Fans especially love seeing the usually buttoned-up Cooper let loose.
Cohen and Cooper have been friends for more than two decades and first connected when a mutual friend tried to set them up. While a date never actually took place (Cooper canceled it after a conversation with Cohen on the phone), the pair connected several years later and became platonic friends.
Related: Anderson Cooper moodily takes the subway with Andy Cohen and takes a selfie: “You didn’t attract enough attention?”
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Anderson Cooper and Andy Cooper at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2024
Now, the pair have bonded over fatherhood. Cohen is father to Benjamin, 5, and Lucy, 2, while Cooper shares sons Wyatt, 4, and Sebastian, 2, with his ex-partner Benjamin Maisani.
“We’re these geriatric patients stumbling around chasing our kids, but look, it’s a matter of bonding again,” Cohen said in a December 2022 episode of his Table for two podcast. He also said he is “so happy” that his children can spend time with other children who come from a home with two fathers.
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CNNs New Year’s Eve live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen airs live from Times Square in New York City at 8 PM ET on CNN and Max.
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