Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper are known for their hilarious — and sometimes unhinged — antics during CNN’s live New Year’s Eve broadcast.
Cohen became Cooper’s cohost in 2017 when he replaced Kathy Griffin. However, the pair have known each other for decades after first crossing paths when their friends tried to set them up on a blind date in the early ‘90s.
“We had a phone call to set up the date, and I knew within 45 seconds I was never going on a date with Andy Cohen,” Cooper told Jimmy Fallon during a 2017 appearance on The Tonight Show, noting that he canceled their date. “He violated my cardinal rule, which is he asked me about my mom [Gloria Vanderbilt] within the first minute of talking to me.”
Cohen, for his part, said he was “excited” 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 twosome are best friend goals. Cohen and Cooper met in the early ’90s when they were almost set up on a blind date. However, the pair’s dynamic never became romantic because Cohen broke Cooper’s […]
While their romantic setup never panned out, they ended up becoming close friends after traveling together throughout the early 2000s with a group of mutual friends. They both have huge careers and have grown families of their own. Cohen is a father to son Ben and daughter Lucy while Cooper coparents his sons, Wyatt and Sebastian, with his friend and former partner Benjamin Maisani.
Cohen and Cooper’s real-life friendship translates on camera, and viewers eagerly tune in every year to watch the duo. They have made headlines over the years because of their alcohol consumption throughout the night, which has brought mixed reactions from fans.
CNN banned their correspondents from drinking while ringing in 2023, and Cohen begged the network to reverse the decision heading into 2024.
“Hopefully, I will not be sneaking it,” Cohen said at BravoCon in November 2023. “I haven’t heard anything yet, but come on, they need to let us drink. It’s New Year’s Eve. That didn’t go well last year in terms of viewer happiness about us drinking. People really cared and I hope CNN gives the 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 in this show, which I never thought was even possible when I first started,” Seacrest exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2022. “But we’ve […]
Keep reading to see Cohen and Cooper’s funniest NYE moments:
Cooper Recounts Saucy 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 appeared on Watch What Happens Live to promote her 2017 book, The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss, there was one question she was worried host Cohen would ask.
“She turns to me out of the blue and goes, ‘He’s not going to ask me who has the biggest c–k in Hollywood, is he?’” Cooper recalled during the broadcast.
Cohen Suggests They Drop Acid
Snoop Dogg appeared during the 2020-2021 show and Cooper couldn’t stop giggling about all the places the rapper had smoked marijuana.
“Have you ever done acid?” Cohen asked Cooper, who exclaimed that 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’ll see Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers performing. I’m sorry, but if you’re watching ABC, you’re watching nothing,” Cohen said during the 2021 broadcast about Seacrest, who hosts Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
Cohen later said on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live that he “regretted” dissing 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 just 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!’
While getting ready to ring in 2022, Cohen took two shots of alcohol before taking a few shots at former mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Watching Mayor de Blasio do his ‘victory lap dance’ after four years of the crappiest term as the mayor of New York, the only thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is what a horrible mayor he has been. So, sayonara sucka!” Cohen said. “2022, it’s a new year, because, guess what? I have a feeling I’m gonna be standing right here next year and you know what I’m not gonna be looking at? Dancing as the city comes apart.”
Cohen Calls Cooper a ‘Nepo Baby’
After Cooper jokingly said the Vanderbilt “fortune was lost long ago,” Cohen quipped, “Look at this little nepo baby! He’s so sweet.”
Cooper Tries Pickle Juice
When counting down the final moments of 2022, Cooper and Cohen decided to play a game of “Mystery Beverage” where they had to sip on various drinks completely blindfolded.
Hilarity ensued when the duo tried some pickle juice on live TV. “I’ve never had a pickle,” Cooper claimed. Cohen replied, “You’ve never had a pickle? What! Sweetie, you’ve had a pickle.”
Cohen Pokes Fun at CNN’s Drinking Rules
After CNN rescinded 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 get his juice responsibly?”
After the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host agreed, the tequila began to pour all evening long.
Cooper’s Purrfect Laugh to Kick Off 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 just fine,” Mayer said while hanging with more than 20 furry friends. “Yes, we’re at 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 as he laughed throughout the segment.
Cooper Can’t Hold Back Laughter as Ralph Fiennes Recites Meme
When the Conclave actor joined Cohen and Cooper on New Year’s Eve 2024, the pair challenged him to recite the “very demure, very mindful” meme that went viral over the summer. Fiennes had never seen the TikTok video that spawned the trend, but as he began, it quickly became clear that Cooper would be left in stitches.
“Well, look, this is how I do my makeup for work — very demure, very mindful,” Fiennes began in his dramatic reading.
By the time Fiennes unzipped his jacket and said, “see my shirt,” Cooper had to disappear off camera to collect himself.
“I liked that very much,” Cooper confirmed when Cohen asked whether he enjoyed the monologue.
Cooper Roasts Cohen’s Viral Dancing Moment From Concert
While Cooper and Cohen recounted their favorite moments from 2024, Cohen made the mistake of bringing up the time he was caught dancing by himself while wearing a tie-dye shirt and smiling from ear to ear at a Dead and Company concert in Las Vegas.
Before the video even began, Cooper was in hysterics.
As Cooper tried to talk through laughter — and maybe tears — Cohen asked him, “Have you ever had fun?”
“This is fun? No, this is sad,” Cooper managed to reply. “Sweetie, what are you wearing? Are you wearing a circus tent? Where did you find it? Did you buy that in the parking lot outside?”
