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The former Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney's ongoing lawsuit against Andy Cohen and others will be moving forward.
A judge issued a 100-page order in response to the defendants' motion to dismiss Leah McSweeney's "toxic work environment and discrimination" lawsuit on Monday, March 31, 2025.
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Leah is accusing Andy Cohen, Bravo Media, NBC Universal Media, Warner Bros. Discovery, production company Shed Media US, and two show producers of "exploiting her addiction" during her time on Real Housewives of New York City.
No Filter podcast host Zack Peter weighed in on the new case developments, citing that while the judge has allowed the case to move forward, he was "heavily limiting" her number of complaints, dropping them from "33 to 3."
Leah McSweeney's claims, which will be allowed in these legal proceedings, have been listed below:
- Disability Discrimination at Real Housewives of New York City
- Hostile Work Environment at Real Housewives of New York City
- Reasonable Accommodation
Zack continued by bringing up one of McSweeney's dismissed claims, in which the actress claims to have been religiously discriminated against on set, while they were filming "Season 3 - Ultimate Girls Trip" in Thailand.
The podcaster humorously references Ariana Grande's "Thank You Next" to suggest the judge's reaction while dismissing her claims. Zack cited that as the case enters its "discovery stage," several text messages and other forms of evidence will be made public.
"She made wild allegations of religious discrimination. Basically alluding that [Andy Cohen and producers of Real Housewives of New York City] are anti-semitic because when they were filming in Thailand there was too much Pork around, and Pork is not Kosher," Zack Peter added.
Kosher is a word describing all foods that comply with and fall under a special set of dietary rules followed under Judaism.
"They had a First Amendment right to choose to make a show that celebrated a party life": Judge passes order on Leah McSweeney's lawsuit
Leah McSweeney's first filing was in February 2024, where she accused several individuals within the production team at Real Housewives of New York City of "establishing a rotted workplace culture".
The actress alleged that her disabilities, like "alcohol use disorder and mental health disorders," were intentionally not accommodated, with her claiming that the production team intended to "create morbidly salacious reality television".
In the 100-page Opinion and Order, issued on Monday, Southern District of New York Judge Lewis Liman allowed three of Leah McSweeney's disability-related claims to go forward but dismissed all of her other claims.
Regarding her claims of discrimination, the judge wrote that it was within the constitutional rights of the show's producers to cast women who "consume alcohol".
"They had a First Amendment right to choose to make a show that celebrated a party life and the drinking of alcohol and to determine that their vision could be best conveyed through reality television and not through scripted scenes," Judge Lewis Liman's order read.
The judge also stated that Andy Cohen and others had the right to not renew McSweeney's contract, citing that her unwillingness to consume liquor would not deliver an authentic message to the viewers.
"They had a corresponding right to cast only persons who could consume large quantities of alcohol. A rule of law that would require them to include in the cast a person who could not perform consistent with those requirements thus would directly interfere with their First Amendment rights," the order stated.
Judge Lewis Liman continued by suggesting McSweeney had a basis to sue against her being recast, given she alleges to have been recast after filing a complaint with the show's HR department.
"Cohen texted Plaintiff to that effect on November 10, 2022, referencing Plaintiff’s complaint of discrimination previously brought to the attention of Bravo employee Sezin Cavusoglu as part of the reason she would not be cast," Lewis Liman opined.
Judge Lewis Liman even dismissed Leah McSweeney's claim of discrimination against Andy Cohen, who allegedly made an "obnoxious and insensitive" comment about the actress' recent br**st augmentation surgery.
"[The text message] was about a cast member in an extremely popular television franchise in which plastic surgery was both prevalent and openly discussed,” the judge stated.
The judge did, however uphold Leah McSweeney's claim of a "hostile work environment based on disability". He cited that while the defendants were within their constitutional rights to encourage alcohol consumption, the methods employed to "generate their message" were not legally acceptable.
"The right to expressive speech does not carry with it a general exemption from all laws that would govern conduct on the set," the order reads.
Additionally, Judge Lewis Liman did permit Leah McSweeney to sue for accommodation-related claims regarding her producers not facilitating her requests to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, while the show was filming in Thailand.
According to the judge's order, all of McSweeney's claims that were upheld will be subject to discovery.
It's highly likely that unseen footage, screenshots, text messages, and other receipts between Leah and the defendants could be made public as this case progresses.
