While celebrating 15 years of “Watch What Happens Live,” Andy Cohen revealed one of his “few regrets” was asking Oprah Winfrey a controversial question on the talk show in 2013.
At the time, Cohen, 56, asked Winfrey if she had ever “taken a dip in the lady pond,” to which she responded, “No, no, I have not. Thank you.”
“This was a huge moment for me and for the show,” Cohen said of her appearance in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I’m such a fan of Oprah.”
But ultimately, Cohen became swept up in the fun of things and asked the media mogul the question despite his better judgment.
“It meant so much to me that Oprah Winfrey did the show,” Cohen said. “It’s gone brilliantly and I turn around and ask her if she’s every had sex with a woman. I mean, couldn’t I leave it alone?”
Cohen further revealed that Winfrey’s close friend Gayle King told him the “Color Purple” actress “didn’t know” what he meant by the term “lady pond.”
“I thought I explained it pretty well there, but listen, I was so grateful that Oprah did the show and I still am,” he said, adding that the episode remains his favorite.
Cohen also recalled another favorite “WWHL” guest of his, Patti Lupone, who has appeared many times on the show since it began in 2009.
“I mean, Patti LuPone has no F’s to give so she is the perfect clubhouse guest,” Cohen gushed.
In a 2017 interview with Cohen, the Broadway star notably fired shots at Madonna when she called the “4 Minutes” singer a “movie killer.”
“This clip got me in a lot of trouble with Madonna, who called me a ‘troublemaking queen’ from the stage of her Celebration Tour. [She] said, ‘You need to stop talking crap about me on your show,’” Cohen told the outlet. “Now the truth is, it wasn’t me talking crap about her. It was people like Patti LuPone — who I also love, by the way.”
“The secret to the success of ‘Watch What Happens Live,’ I think, is spontaneity, authenticity, fun, humor, me going there and people never knowing what’s gonna happen,” Cohen said as he reflected on the show’s achievements.
As for the next chapter of his life, the father of two said it’s “all about the kids,” keeping the talk show alive and “keeping the ‘Housewives’ as fresh as we can.”
