Andy Cohen reveals best and worst celebrity interviews from Watch What Happens Live

Talk show host Andy Cohen tells news.com.au about his best and worst guests – and reveals the question he still regrets asking Oprah.

Andy Cohen’s gossip-filled late-night chat show Watch What Happens Live has offered up a wealth of pop culture moments in more than a decade on air.

It’s where Mariah Carey insisted she still didn’t know J-Lo. Where Paris Hilton declared Lindsay Lohan was “beyond embarrassing”. Where Whoopi Goldberg taught Cohen how to roll a joint live on air.

Well-lubricated with a drink or two inside the show’s ‘Clubhouse’, visiting celebs often let down their guard to such an extent you wonder: They do know this is airing live, right? (“It’s interesting,” Cohen says, “just how many guests later ask if moments can be edited out of a show titled Watch What Happens Live.”)

Cohen spoke to news.com.au about his best and worst guests, the celebs who aren’t worth the trouble of booking – and the one question he still regrets asking.

Watch What Happens Live: Where celebs say … a little too much.

Since lockdown hit, you’ve been filming Watch What Happens Live remotely. Is it harder to get that rapport going with your guests?

We think being in the Clubhouse is disarming – people come in and they don’t really compute that the show is live. We’re broadcasting out of this teeny little room, drinking and laughing. So there’s an intimacy about it – but there’s an intimacy about doing the show from people’s homes too. People are really relaxed. And it’s all about what opening they give me. If someone gives me an opening, I’m going to go through it. I’m looking for things people haven’t shared before, things that are provocative and surprising. I think we’ve been able to maintain that spirit really well remotely. We’re doing a lot of dumb stuff remotely, and we do a lot of dumb stuff in person.

Looking for those ‘openings’, has there ever been a question you’ve instantly regretted?

I was really nervous and excited when Oprah Winfrey was on my show. Towards the end, I asked her if she had ever ‘swum in the lady pond’; if she’d ever been with a woman. As the words were coming out of my mouth, I regretted it. I thought, oh man, you’ve sullied this amazing encounter.

You’ve spoken before about your worst Watch What Happens Live interview, a tense 2018 appearance by actress Debra Winger. Amanda Peet also appeared on that episode – and she just came back on last month for a post-mortem.

She was, and I was really looking forward to hearing from her about it. We were about to start doing the show and she said, ‘We need to talk about Debra Winger.’ I said, ‘Oh, wait until we get on the air! I can’t WAIT to talk to you about Debra Winger.’

So what went wrong with that interview?

Andy Cohen …

… vs Debra Winger.

Well the show is live, and it’s very much a document of what happens in the course of a half-hour – the good, the bad and the awkward. Here you have a guest who was starting to turn against me as the show continued. It makes for compelling television, for sure. But I’ve had guests who’ve absolutely hated each other’s guts as the show’s gone on. I remember Joan Rivers’ last appearance, she was teamed up with this guy from Dancing With The Stars US. She wound up getting to like him as it went on, but before the show she said to me: ‘I’m gonna take this guy down.’ I was terrified … yet also excited. That’s why the show works; you just don’t know what’s going to happen.

When I got off the air (after Debra Winger), I had planned on going home but I thought, ‘Oh man, I need to stay and have a drink or five with my team.’

Are some celebrities just not worth the hassle?

I wish I could say who it was, but there was a huge star who had said yes to doing the show – I mean, this was a huge international superstar. But they were clearly so terrified of what was going to happen that they were just trying to micromanage everything. It got to the point where I said, guys, this is not worth it. Why are we doing this? I’d rather have a bad night with Debra Winger than a weird night with this superstar. And the truth of the matter is, I’m ultimately a fan. I want to celebrate people, and I’m excited that they’re there. I want it to be fun for them too. And people are on my show because they have something to promote. If something happens that ends up getting a ton of press – that’s positive!

And what about the other extreme – are there people you’d have on any time? I feel like Patti LuPone earned a lifetime membership the moment she declared Madonna was a ‘movie killer’.

Andy laps it up.

Patti Lupone speaks her mind.

She’s a great one, always a classic. She’s at a point in her life where she just doesn’t care, and that’s a wonderful place to be. Jane Fonda’s like that, too. People who just say what they think and take no prisoners. And there are still people I’ve never had on the show that I’d love to get: Michelle Obama, Madonna … I’ve never had Nicole Kidman on.

You’re also the executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise. How involved are you with the Aussie iterations?

I have heard so many people tell me how great the Melbourne version is, but not only am I not involved, I haven’t even watched it. But my plate is so full – we have eight going here, so when I tell you I have to watch a cut of Potomac, two of Beverly Hills before the night is over tonight … that’s my work. So I haven’t seen Melbourne, but I hear it’s great.

And Sydney? Some Real Housewives fans felt the conflict was dialled up a bit much. Is that a tricky balance to get right in a franchise that thrives on drama?

A hundred per cent. If these shows did not have a ton of heart and a ton of humour, it wouldn’t still be on the air and going strong 14 years later. If it was only wine tosses … that gets old really quick.

Mariah Carey’s long-awaited memoir is out in September via Andy Cohen Books. What can we expect?

I can tell you that it is phenomenal. It is up to the quality of one of her best albums. It’s very powerful and revealing, and it’s of this moment in time … It’s great.

Watch What Happens Live is available to stream in Australia on Hayu.

Originally published as Andy Cohen reveals best and worst celebrity interviews from Watch What Happens Live