Leah McSweeney sued Andy Cohen, Bravo and other companies and producers in federal court in February 2024, alleging disability discrimination, retaliation and failures to accommodate her mental-health disabilities, including alcohol use disorder. The court partly allowed claims to proceed in 2025, then ruled in March 2026 that defendants had waived arbitration by litigating in court. Neither ruling determined whether McSweeney’s allegations are true.
What McSweeney alleges in her lawsuit
McSweeney’s February 27, 2024 complaint says the workplace surrounding her appearances on The Real Housewives of New York City (RHONY) and The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip (RHUGT) pressured cast members to consume alcohol and failed to accommodate her alcohol use disorder and other mental-health disabilities. She also alleges discrimination and retaliation, including in connection with casting decisions. These are claims made by McSweeney in a civil pleading, not findings established by a court. The complaint sets out her allegations.
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The complaint names Cohen, producers Lisa Shannon, John Paparazzo and Darren Ward, and Bravo Media, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Shed Media. The 2025 court opinion describes Cohen as a Real Housewives executive producer and host of reunion episodes and Watch What Happens Live, and Bravo as the franchise broadcaster. The suit is a federal civil case, not a criminal prosecution.
What the court has ruled
March 31, 2025: motion to dismiss partly granted and partly denied
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion to dismiss McSweeney’s first amended complaint. The opinion’s precise claim-by-claim treatment matters: this was not a ruling that the entire lawsuit was dismissed, nor was it a decision that McSweeney had won. A motion-to-dismiss ruling addresses whether claims may proceed at that stage; it does not resolve the truth of disputed allegations. Read the March 31, 2025 opinion and order for the court’s claim-specific analysis.
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March 9, 2026: defendants found to have waived arbitration
Judge Liman ruled that defendants had waived their right to arbitration through their litigation conduct. Bloomberg Law reported that the remaining disability-accommodation claims could continue in federal court. The ruling concerned where the claims could be heard, not whether the alleged conduct occurred. Bloomberg Law quoted the judge’s explanation: “By invoking the Court’s authority to dismiss the entire case on the merits and turning to arbitration only after failing in that effort, Defendants have lost their right to arbitrate through their litigation-related conduct.” See Bloomberg Law’s March 10, 2026 account.
How the dispute reached those rulings
- February 27, 2024: McSweeney filed her original complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- November 14, 2024: At a hearing, McSweeney’s lawyer argued the case should proceed to evidence gathering, while defendants argued that First Amendment protections applied. These were opposing legal arguments, not court findings; the judge did not rule immediately at the hearing. The Associated Press reported that McSweeney’s attorney Sarah Matz said, “The show is not called the ‘Drunk Housewives of New York City.’” That was counsel’s advocacy, not a statement by the judge. See the Associated Press hearing report.
- March 31, 2025: The court issued its partial grant and partial denial of the motion to dismiss.
- March 9, 2026: The court ruled that defendants had waived arbitration through their litigation conduct.
Did McSweeney win, and is the case over?
The rulings described above do not establish that McSweeney won the lawsuit on its merits. The 2025 order allowed some claims past the dismissal stage while dismissing others, and the 2026 order addressed arbitration. As of October 4, 2026, the sources cited here do not verify a later final judgment, settlement or additional merits decision. The ultimate outcome therefore cannot be stated from this record.
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