Andy Cohen Isn’t Beefing With Howie Mandel – but Wouldn’t Invite Him and Tom Sandoval on ‘WWHL’
Andy Cohen was a little salty after hearing Howie Mandel’s exclusive interview with Tom Sandoval from Vanderpump Rules.
But Cohen said his beef with Mandel is water under the bridge. “I was ribbing him for not being prepared for the interview,” he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet during an interview about FRESCA Mixed. “And we kind of went back and forth and we just had a laugh. He DM’d me recently and I said it was an honor being in a feud with you. So I think think that was the tenor.”
If he’s “all good” with Mandel, would Cohen consider inviting Mandel and Sandoval to appear together on Watch What Happens Live? Cohen quickly answered that question: “No.”
So maybe they are not that great after all.
Sandoval likely broke some major contractual rules by doing Mandel’s podcast, and Cohen cringed when it was very apparent that Mandel knew nothing about Vanderpump Rules.
The Sandoval interview was a huge “get” for Mandel because the Vanderpump Rules scandal was exploding. After nearly a decade together in what appeared to be a loving relationship, Sandoval cheated on his girlfriend Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss, someone who was a mutual close friend.
Cohen and other Vanderpump Rules cast members flicked at the podcast episode and Cohen even awarded Mandel the “Jackhole of the Day.”
Andy Cohen played ‘traffic cop’ on the ‘Vanderpump Rules’ reunion
Cohen also reflected on the grueling Vanderpump Rules reunion. Despite having to come between James Kennedy and Tom Sandoval, which caused his cards to tumble, “My cards!” he said with dismay in his voice, Cohen said the agony was more on the side of the cast.
“Vanderpump really was, you just kind of put a quarter in and everybody did their thing. I mean, they all were so revved up and they couldn’t wait to confront Tom that I really just needed to kind of be a traffic cop and make sure no fists were thrown,” he shared.
And while Cohen could see how the cast was raw and angry during the reunion, he thinks it may be time for everyone to chill out. “I think what people forgot is that we shot the reunion like three weeks after the news came out,” Cohen said. “So they were all really feeling very betrayed and upset and so it was very raw. And, by the time it aired, it was months later. And we’ve all been sitting with this and so much has been said. So you just have to remember where they were at that time.”
Andy Cohen thinks it is time to give ‘Vanderpump Rules’ cast members a break
That being said, the news broke in March. It’s now almost July and some fans continue to hammer away at Sandoval and Leviss. “It seems like people need to chill out. I mean, you know, let these people alone. They bared themselves to you, warts and all. And so I think it’s time to kind of let it sit.”
Cohen also addressed some of the pushback toward Lisa Vanderpump from cast members like Kennedy and Lala Kent.
“Yeah, that was wild. I mean, they were like, ‘Get out of my way. We’re coming through.’ Yeah, they were a little hard on her,” he said about Vanderpump.
