Andy Cohen AND Anderson Cooper are known for their hilarious — and sometimes memorable — antics during CNN’s live New Year’s Eve broadcast.
Cohen became Cooper’s host in 2017 when he replaced Kathy Griffin. However, the pair have known each other for decades after first crossing paths when friends tried to set them up on a blind date in the early 90s.
“We got on the phone to set the date, and I knew within 45 seconds that I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen,” Cooper said. Jimmy Fallon during a 2017 appearance at The Tonight Shownoting that he canceled their meeting. “He broke my cardinal rule, which is he asked me about my mother (Gloria Vanderbilt) within the first minute of talking to me.”
Cohen, for his part, said he was “thrilled” about their phone call, adding, “I wanted to date the Vanderbilt boy!”
Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper share everything from identical initials to similar professions, which makes it easy to see why the pair are best friend goals. Cohen and Cooper met in the early 90s, when they were almost set up on a blind date. However, the couple’s dynamic never became romantic because Cohen broke Cooper’s (…)
While their romantic arrangement never surfaced, they ended up becoming close friends after traveling together in the early 2000s with a group of mutual friends. They both have great careers and have grown families of their own. Cohen is father to son Ben and daughter Lucy, while Cooper joins his sons, Wyatt and Sebastian, with his friend and ex-partner. Benjamin Maisani.
Cohen and Cooper’s real-life friendship translates on camera, and viewers eagerly tune in every year to see the duo. They have made headlines over the years for drinking alcohol at night, which has drawn mixed reactions from fans.
CNN banned its correspondents from drinking during the call in 2023, and Cohen pleaded with the network to reverse the decision in 2024.
“I hope I don’t sneak it in,” Cohen said at BravoCon in November 2023. “I haven’t heard anything yet, but come on, they should let us drink. It’s New Year’s Eve. That didn’t go well last year in terms of viewer happiness for us drinkers. People really cared and I hope CNN gives people what they want.”
John Lamparski/Getty Images for dick clark productions The show must go on … but not every New Year’s Eve broadcast has gone smoothly for Ryan Seacrest. “We have three live countdowns on this show, which I never thought was possible when I first started,” Seacrest exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2022. “But we have (…)
Keep reading to see Cohen and Cooper’s funniest NYE moments:
Cooper tells a strange story about Gloria Vanderbilt
During the 2019 broadcast, Cooper tried Jägermeister for the first time before telling a hilarious story about his late mother.
When Vanderbilt showed up at Watch What happens live to promote her 2017 book, The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Lossthere was one question she was worried host Cohen would ask.
“She turns to me suddenly and says, ‘He’s not going to ask me who has the biggest dick in Hollywood, is he?'” Cooper recalled on air.
Cohen suggests cutting out the acid
Snoop Dogg appeared during the 2020-2021 show, and Cooper couldn’t stop laughing about all the places the rapper had smoked weed.
“Have you ever taken acid?” Cohen asked Cooper, who said he had never tried the drug. The Bravo star said: “Well, it’s time. We’re doing it tonight.”
Cohen’s Ryan Seacrest diss
“If you look behind me, you will see Ryan SeacrestBand of losers performing. I’m sorry, but if you’re watching ABC, you’re not watching anything,” Cohen said during the 2021 broadcast about Seacrest, who hosts. Dick Clark’s Shocking New Year’s Eve.
Cohen later told Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live that he “regretted” airing Seacrest’s special, calling him a “great guy.”
Andy Cohen is a proud father of two, welcoming Ben and Lucy in 2019 and 2022, respectively. “When I was growing up, and when we were growing up … I never thought it would be possible as a gay man to grow up and have a family,” Cohen told BFF Anderson Cooper in December (… )
Cohen’s famous ‘Sayonara, Sucka’!
As he prepared to ring the bell in 2022, Cohen downed two shots of alcohol before taking a few shots at the former mayor. Bill de Blasio.
“Watching Mayor de Blasio take his victory lap after four years of New York’s strangest term as mayor, the only thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on is what a terrible mayor he’s been.” . So, sayonara sucka!” Cohen said. “2022 is a new year because, guess what? I have a feeling I’ll be staying here next year and you know what I won’t be looking at? Dancing as the city falls apart.”
Cohen Calls Cooper ‘Nepo’s Kid’
After Cooper joked that Vanderbilt’s “fortune was lost a long time ago,” Cohen quipped, “Look at this little baby nephew! He’s so sweet.”
Cooper tries the pickle juice
When counting down the final moments of 2022, Cooper and Cohen decided to play a game of “Mystery Drinks” where they had to drink different drinks completely blindfolded.
Hilarity ensued when the pair tried some pickle juice on live TV. “I’ve never had a pickle,” Cooper claimed. Cohen replied, “You’ve never had pickles? What! Honey, you’ve had a pickle.”
Cohen pokes fun at CNN’s drinking rules
After CNN lifted Cooper and Cohen’s alcohol ban for New Year’s Eve 2023, the pair toasted at the top of the broadcast — and throughout the show.
“I’m hearing from a lot of people and I guess I’m just wondering: Does daddy get his juice?” Cohen asked. Cooper replied, “Can daddy take his juice responsibly?”
after Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen the host agreed, the tequila started pouring throughout the evening.
Cooper’s Purrfect Laugh will launch in 2024
Cooper couldn’t believe his eyes and ears when John Mayer decided to join the broadcast from a Japanese cat bar.
“I believe it passes all health codes. I think it’s great,” Mayer said while hanging out with more than 20 furry friends. “Yeah, we’re in a cat bar. It’s called Cats in the Box in Tokyo. We’re already halfway through the first day of 2024.”
Cooper struggled to ask any follow-up questions while laughing throughout the segment.
Cooper can’t contain his laughter as Ralph Fiennes recites the meme
When to Conclave actor joined Cohen and Cooper on New Year’s Eve 2024, the pair challenged him to recite the “very humble, very conscious” meme that went viral over the summer. Fiennes had never seen the trending TikTok video, but as it began, it quickly became clear that Cooper would be left in stitches.
“Well, look, this is how I do my makeup for work – very humble, very conscious,” Fiennes began in his dramatic reading.
By the time Fiennes unzipped his jacket and said, “look at my shirt,” Cooper had to disappear off camera to collect himself.
“I really enjoyed that,” Cooper confirmed when Cohen asked if he enjoyed the monologue.
Cooper Roasts Cohen’s Viral Dance Moment From Concert
As Cooper and Cohen recounted their favorite moments from 2024, Cohen made the mistake of mentioning the time he was caught dancing by himself while wearing a tie-dye shirt and grinning from ear to ear at a Dead and Company concert in Las Vegas.
Before the video started, Cooper was in hysterics.
As Cooper tried to talk through laughter — and maybe tears — Cohen asked him, “Do you ever have fun?”
“Is this fun? No, that’s sad,” Cooper managed to reply. “Honey, what are you wearing? Are you wearing a circus tent? Where did you find it? Did you buy it in the parking lot outside?”
