Andy Cohen Responds to Criticism Over Jen Shah Comment

Andy Cohen was challenged over his previous hope that Jen Shah would serve ‘no jail time’ after the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City pleaded guilty to fraud. She was recently sentenced to 6.5 years in prison.

Last week, Andy shared his hope to interview Jen, who reportedly refused to attend the reunion on the advice of legal counsel. Jen is set to begin her sentence on February 17.

During a CNN interview with Chris Wallace, shared by @queensofbravo on Instagram, Andy was questioned over his previous comments about Jen.

Chris pointed out that Andy previously stated his hope that Jen would serve “no jail time.” Chris then asked why Andy would side with Jen against the people she defrauded, which included the “elderly.”

As Andy expressed that he’d hoped she was “innocent,” Chris pushed back, saying his comment was made after Jen pleaded guilty.

At this point, Andy seemed to squirm in his seat, and he shared he wasn’t sure of the quote’s “context.” He eventually expressed, however, that he now thinks Jen should “go to jail.”

After the CNN clip spread on social media, Andy took to Instagram to address it.

After complimenting Chris on his interviewing skills, Andy said “the thing” that’s getting “picked up” is the idea that he didn’t want Jen to go to prison.

“I just want to clarify the context,” said Andy, who explained that his previous quote was an address to people who still wanted Jen on the show. At the time, Andy was suggesting he had little control over that given her potential sentencing.

“I should have asked [Chris] what [the context] was … because the context is different than the quote on its own, as often happens,” said Andy, before sharing a screenshot of his quote, which was made in an interview with Us Weekly.

“She’s being sentenced on December 15, so I don’t know what to say to people who want her on the show,” said Andy on November 17. “I hope that she gets no jail time whatsoever and she can come right back … but I have a feeling that she’s not going to be available to be on the show.”