Andy Cohen is speaking out after Real Housewives of Orange County fans turned on Kelly Dodd.
The question now, though, is if the Bravo boss will do anything about it.
During the Everything Iconic podcast with Danny Pellegrino, Andy opened up about his take on the fans’ decision to boycott Kelly and RHOC.
Andy said, “People have always celebrated Kelly for her outspokenness…and by the way, we have many outspoken and polarizing people being celebrated all over Bravo for bad behavior and comments.”
In regard to whether or not he was going to take action, Andy said, “A line is being drawn by some fans for what they’ll accept…that’s entirely their right.”
Danny noted how difficult it must be to be on the side that makes the casting decision, but he said, “It is still a reality show and we do like messy people.”
Andy acknowledged fickle opinions about other questionable situations and said, “Well, it’s interesting…so this is offensive…and you thought this other horrible thing was hilarious, but this horrible thing isn’t.”
He continued, “Everyone has a line and you can only respect it. It’s always an exploration of the line and we’re all figuring out where the line is.”
Kelly crosses the line
Andy made it clear that he respects the right of viewers to choose when something crosses a line for them, and Kelly knows just how to get under people’s skin.
The boycott of Kelly started over her alleged insensitivity toward COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kelly received a lot of backlash for wearing a “Drunk Wives Matter” hat on social media. She claimed she intended it as a joke, but some people felt it was mocking the current Black Lives Matter movement.
In addition to the hat, Kelly made a controversial statement about the pandemic. In one of her Instagram stories, Kelly told viewers that “no one was dying from the coronavirus in Orange County.”
The comment came weeks after she suggested that COVID-19 was God’s way of “thinning the herd.”
Several fans and bloggers have since spoken out against the housewife’s behavior and are refusing to tune in to the new season of RHOC.
Other housewives speak out
Kelly has always been someone who says what’s on her mind regardless of the consequences – a characteristic that still holds true through the most recent RHOC season.
Former housewife Heather Dubrow recently slammed Kelly and called her out on her seemingly disrespectful behavior, saying she was “not human.”
On the Poplitically Incorrect podcast, Heather admitted she could understand people’s decision to boycott and said, “I think that in these days and times…if you don’t believe in the Black Lives Matter movement, if you’re gonna be against this, if you’re not gonna understand where we are in our world today and what humans need, you’re not human. I think in those circumstances, you can understand why someone would be canceled.”
Kelly also horrified co-star Shannon Beador during a recent episode of RHOC when she referred to Shannon’s 91-year-old father Gene as “Big d**k daddy from Cincinnatti.”
While Gene found humor in the nickname, Shannon was not pleased that her friend would refer to her father in such a way.
Fans seem to love or hate Kelly’s impulsive behavior and off the cuff commentary. While her actions may cross the line for some, fans can’t deny that Kelly contributes to an entertaining storyline on RHOC.
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo