Andy Cohen requests dismissal of Leah McSweeney’s discrimination lawsuit

Andy Cohen has moved to dismiss Leah McSweeney’s discrimination and substance abuse lawsuit, saying her allegations are “trivial.”

In the documents obtained by people, Cohen’s legal team argued that McSweeney’s claims that he intentionally preyed on her drinking problems to boost ratings should be “rejected as a matter of law.”

The filing came three months after the former “Real Housewives of New York City” star alleged that Bravo viewed her alcohol addiction and “mental health disorder” as a chance to score a ratings win.

In her lawsuit, she alleged that the producers pressured her into drinking in a variety of ways, ranging from encouraging her to do so to denying her enough free time to attend AA, which she claimed in turn violated her rights under employment law.

However, Cohen’s team argued that they never specifically tried to “show intoxicated cast members” on the “Real Housewives” franchise – and even if they did, it would be within their First Amendment rights.

The new filing said McSweeney’s claims of discrimination “unacceptably seek to limit” Cohen’s “rights to tailor and tailor the messages he wishes to convey in his creative works, including through casting and other creative decisions.”

“Any messages that defendants ‘communicate or intend to convey’ on their programs are protected by the First Amendment,” the document continues, according to People.

“Judicial interference in casting decisions for expressive works “regulates inadmissibly[s] [Defendants’] the right to change the content of the story [they] say — or choose not to speak.”

As for McSweeney’s claims that she experienced gender-based harassment, Cohen’s legal team argued there was a statute of limitations. They argue that her “single timely plea” does not meet the standards of the New York Human Rights Act.

Shortly after Cohen filed his motion, McSweeney’s attorney, Sarah Matz, told us his motion lacked “merit.”

“It argues for the most part for dismissal on a technicality, essentially finding that the defendants were permitted to discriminate against Ms. McSweeney, not because they failed to do so,” she said in a statement.

“To agree with Defendants would be to essentially say that the creative industries are not subject to anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws and that networks can engage in discrimination and retaliation with impunity, which is not a law.”

Along with Cohen, McSweeney also sued Bravo and Shed Media – the production company that makes both series – and Warner Media, which owns Shed.

Elsewhere in the lawsuit, McSweeney alleged that Cohen “uses cocaine with the housekeepers he employs” and that his “propensity to use cocaine in the company of employees is well known throughout the Real Housewives franchise.”

However, a representative for Bravo’s CEO told us the claims were “completely false,” and the CEO later called them “hurtful.”

“Obviously being a target is not fun,” he said Hollywood reporter earlier this month. “But I don’t regret how I handled anything.”

“I think everything that happens in your life influences the next thing that happens in your life,” he continued. “That’s how I look at it all. I know what the truth is and I know how I acted, and I walk through it proudly every day.

A day later, Cohen was cleared of wrongdoing by the network after an “external investigation” found the claims about the drug were “unsubstantiated” – yet McSweeney’s team didn’t buy it.

“How do you conduct an investigation without talking to anyone? To our knowledge, no one has ever contacted our company,” its attorney, Gary Adelman, said in a statement. “Our opinion is that no one will believe this was a real investigation.”