Andy Cohen Reveals Why It Took So Long To Add A Black Cast Member To “RHOBH”

Andy Cohen opened up about why it took so long to add a Black “housewife” to the cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

According to Yahoo, Cohen, who executive produces the Bravo series and hosts the reunion specials, appeared as a guest on castmate Garcelle Beauvais‘s podcast “Going To Bed With Garcelle” and answered the question.

Cohen explained why it took 10 seasons to get a Black cast member on the Beverly Hills franchise, saying they were waiting for “the perfect one.” But he also noted, “There was no excuse.”

He explained, “I think that it was a bad cycle because then the longer you waited, the more you wanted to get it absolutely perfect when you did cast a woman of color and bring them into the group. You wanted that person to succeed,” Cohen admitted.

The “Watch What Happens Live” host continued, “Over the years, there have been people that we did not cast that were people of color…We really wanted to get it right, so that we weren’t casting someone that would be a one-season housewife or like, ‘Oh, well, she’s boring’ or she didn’t fit. I just think it was this vicious cycle of wanting to get it absolutely right. The true answer is: There is no excuse. It’s bad and there is no excuse.”

Cohen also revealed that they almost cast a gay man but decided the show should remain female-focused.

“I think when you start casting gay men, it just, it’s ultimately a show about women,” he said.