After Andy Cohen was asked to address his relationship status with John Mayer, the musician condemned the “intense speculation.”
Cohen, 55, was asked about his friendship with Mayer, 46, in a recent The Hollywood Reporter profile. In response, Mayer sent an open letter to the outlet detailing his criticism.
“I read your interview with Andy Cohen, and was intrigued by your line of questioning regarding our friendship,” the singer wrote. “You posited that ‘your friendship with Mayer has been a subject of intense speculation. People seem dubious that a straight rock star can have a close platonic relationship with a gay TV personality.’ I think this is somewhat of a specious premise.”
Mayer asserted that there is “a long and storied history” of rock stars “befriending gay icons and artists.” (Mayer identifies as straight, while Cohen came out as gay when he was 22, decades before he became famous.)
Mayer further took issue with the outlet claiming that Cohen’s fans were clamoring to know how two men could have a platonic relationship.
“I think that to suggest that people are dubious of a friendship like mine and Andy’s is to undermine the public’s ability to accept and understand diversity in all facets of culture, be it in art or in real life,” Mayer added in his letter. “I’d like to think they’re sophisticated enough to see a relationship like ours without assuming it must include a sexual component. That turns the concept of being gay into an ignorantly two-dimensional one, which I know you know it’s not. I don’t question that at all.”
He continued, “Quite simply, if someone is dubious of a platonic relationship between a straight man and a gay man, I don’t think that shallow a view deserves clarification by anyone with self-respect, be it Andy or your publication. Reinforcing the idea that any gay/straight relationship needs qualification that it’s not sexual devoids everyone involved of their dignity.”
Cohen, meanwhile, had encouraged fans to “speculate” about their relationship in his THR profile.
“I honestly love John Mayer, and he loves me,” Cohen said in the interview published earlier this month. “But because we’re so affectionate toward each other, people don’t know what box to put that in. They assume we’re sleeping with each other, which we are most definitely not.”
Cohen and Mayer have been friends for years, and the “You’re Body Is a Wonderland” singer has appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen multiple times. Mayer also delivered a speech at Cohen’s 2022 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
“His voice on radio, his humor and charm on his nightly late-night talk show, and his reality TV dynasty all bring a much-needed ray of sunshine into our lives,” Mayer said at the time. “Making our morning drives a little less soul-crushing, our nights a little less lonely, and allowing us to feel as if we have a friend up there, among the Hollywood stars.”
Cohen further noted to THR that Mayer’s speech “really moved” him.
