Leah McSweeney, former Real Housewives of New York City star has now taken a turn from her lawsuit filed against Bravo and Andy Cohen.
The star had taken legal action in relation to the show, accusing programme makers of allegedly establishing a “rotted” workplace culture where cast members were pressured to consume alcohol and other drugs, and failing to maintain a safe working environment.
However, on Friday, October 30, she voluntarily dismissed her claims with prejudice, meaning she cannot file a lawsuit with the same claims again.
According to court filings from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, all parties agreed to the dismissal, but the terms were not disclosed.
Leah’s attorney, Gary Adelman, told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column, “We are extremely satisfied with the outcome [and] we are proud of Leah and her perseverance.”
Back in April, Andy filed a motion to have the suit dismissed, a month after the judge ordered the case to proceed in a public courtroom because both parties had waited too long to request arbitration.
In her 109-page filing, Leah, who broke nine years of sobriety but was back on the wagon by the time filming for season 12 began in 2019, claimed she had told producers that she suffered from alcohol use disorder but they discriminated against her by “intentionally planning scenarios intended to exacerbate [her] disabilities,” all in efforts to “create morbidly salacious reality television.”
She wrote, “Defendants with the knowledge that Ms. McSweeney struggled with alcohol use disorder, colluded with her colleagues to pressure Ms. McSweeney to drink, retaliated against her when she wanted to stay sober, and intentionally failed to provide reasonable accommodations that would aid her efforts to stay sober and able to perform.”
In a later section of the 2024 lawsuit, the reality star alleged Andy “engages in cocaine use with Housewives and other ‘Bravolebrities’ that he employs,” and has a “proclivity for cocaine usage with his employees.”
She further alleged, “Cohen tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favourable treatment and edits. Cohen’s preferred workplace environment, which is fuelled with substances and illicit behaviour, permeates every aspect of Defendant Bravo productions.”
However, a spokesperson for Andy denied the allegations against him, telling Deadline, “The claims against Andy are completely false!”
