Making a change. Andy Cohen is looking forward to adding more diversity to Real Housewives of New York for its upcoming 13th season.
“We’re working on next season,” the Bravo personality, 52, told Us Weekly exclusively on Monday, August 17, while promoting Hotel Artois at Home, a virtual 5-star hotel experience by Stella Artois. “I’m excited for what we have planned.”
The Most Talkative author’s tease comes shortly after RHONY cast member Leah McSweeney called for more diversity to be featured on the popular reality series. Over the course of the program’s 12 seasons, there has never been a Black Housewife in its main cast.
“I hope that there’s not only diversity of race but an even deeper diversity of where someone lives or what their interests are,” the fashion designer, 37, told Page Six in an interview published on August 8. “I hope that there’s just more diversity all across the board because New Yorkers are not a monolith, obviously. I think that it is gonna head in that direction.”
One day after McSweeney’s candid remarks, Bravo aired a special entitled Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment, which showed a handful of the network’s stars sharing their thoughts on and personal experiences with racial inequality. McSweeney appeared in the hour-long special but noted that being an ally to the Black Lives Matter movement wasn’t enough.
“When we’re talking about race and racism — why do we even have the word ‘ally?'” she told Page Six before the Bravo program aired. “This is an everyone problem. ‘Ally’ shouldn’t even be a thing. Everyone should be against racism, no matter what freaking color you are, no matter where you’re from. It’s truly a very evil idea, racism in general. So it should be, across the board, completely looked down upon and destroyed.”
Earlier this month, fellow RHONY star Luann de Lesseps also hinted that the show might be moving in a new direction, telling Extra that there will “definitely” be “some new Housewives” in the mix. Multiple sources later told Us that Bravo has big plans for the future of the franchise.
“Bravo is planning to shake things up with The Real Housewives of New York next year,” one source exclusively revealed in August. Another insider added at the time, “There’s going to be some changes. … A handful of white women doesn’t necessarily represent what New York City is all about.”
Fans can book their stay at Stella Artois’ virtual 5-star hotel starting on Tuesday, August 18, through Hotel Artois at Home’s booking portal.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
