Andy Cohen is used to defending ‘Housewives’ from rabid Bravo fans, but now he’s having to speak out in defense of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star Tom Sandoval amid ‘out of control’ hatred from fans.
via Page Six:
The Bravo executive, 54, defended the disgraced reality star who cheated on his partner of nine years Ariana Madix with her best friend Raquel Leviss.
“Tom Sandoval made a mistake he’ll probably regret for the rest of his life,” Cohen said on Tuesday’s episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast.
“He is still a person,” he added.
While discussing the affair — which has since become an international news story — with host Amanda Hirsch, the “Watch What Happens Live” boss said he hopes the fan reaction will calm down.
“It’s out of control, I hope it’s kind of dying down for his sake,” Cohen went on.
“He’s a real person. He did something really stupid and hurtful and asinine … [but] he didn’t kill anyone, he didn’t commit a crime.”
When Hirsch asked why he believes the scandal ballooned to such epic proportions, Cohen said “the cast is so incestuous already.”
The pair’s affair first came to light on March 3, just two days after Madix stumbled upon evidence of their relationship on her now-ex-boyfriend’s phone.
“Vanderpump Rules” cameras continued to roll, as the fallout from Scandoval was documented on Season 10 of the reality show.
During part one of the reunion, which aired last week, Madix revealed she only received one apology text from Leviss
“It took her 48 whole hours to text me, ‘I don’t even know what to say. I’m just, I’m sorry,’” Madix, 37, told Cohen during a one-on-one chat.
“And I said, ‘F–k off you f–king rat,’” she added. “And I blocked her.”
Leviss, 28, wasn’t onstage during the first installment of the highly-anticipated reunion as she had obtained a restraining order against her former friend Scheana Shay at the time of the March 23 taping.
She will swap seats with Shay this week, giving Madix the opportunity to address her directly, after having a seven-month affair with Sandoval behind her back.
A trailer for the upcoming episode shows Madix calling the beauty queen “diabolical, demented [and] subhuman.”
Most recently, Sandoval was photographed talking on the phone with Leviss after sources confirmed to Page Six that the pair called it quits.
While on a flight to Pittsburgh Sunday night, a fellow passenger snapped a pic of the Tom Tom restaurant owner chatting to his co-star, whose name was shown on the screen of his cell phone.
It’ll all blow over soon enough — at least until the next season of ‘Vanderpump Rules.’
