Andy Cohen maintains that his controversial remark that Jen Shah should not receive jail time was misconstrued.
Cohen, 54, said on his Instagram Story on Tuesday, after the CNN host, 75, quizzed him over the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” actress, 49, pleading guilty to running a statewide telemarketing operation, “I got a lot of comments yesterday about the Chris Wallace interview.”
“All I want to do is clarify the context of what I just said,” he continued. “I said that in answer to people asking whether she will return to the program… I knew there must have been a context, and I should have asked him what it was.
Andy Cohen clarified his contentious statement that Jen Shah, a fraudster, should receive “no jail time.”
The “Watch What Happens Live” host accompanied his video with a clip of a comment he provided in answer to a question on whether Shah will be invited back for Season 4 of “RHOA: Little Caribbee.”
Cohen said of his interview with Chris Wallace, “I knew there must have been some context, and I should have asked him what it was.”
In November 2022, he told Us Weekly, “She will be sentenced on December 15, so I don’t know what to tell people who want her on the show.” “I hope that she receives no jail time and may return immediately… However, I have a sense that she will not be available for the show.”
For the crime she committed, the “Watch What Happens Live” presenter ultimately concluded that Shah should serve time in prison.
Recently, Wallace inquired of Cohen, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” Why the executive producer of “Housewives” continued to “take [Shah’s] side against the thousands of people she defrauded” despite admitting her involvement in the scheme.
Cohen immediately attempted to retract his statement before reversing course and stating that Shah “should go to jail.”
Due to her legal issues, Shah did not attend BravoCon 2022 or the “RHOSLC” Season 3 reunion.
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He said, “You know, sometimes if you get to know someone and like them, you hope they are innocent of a terrible crime.”
After accepting a last-minute guilty plea, Cohen hinted at BravoCon in October 2022 that Shah’s time on the network had “come to an end.” ver, has not issued an official comment regarding Shah’s future on the network.
Cohen stated, however, that he is “hopeful” to conduct a “sit-down” interview with Shah before she begins her prison sentence on February 17.
On January 6, the Bravolebrity was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison.
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