AsFlipping Outfans wait to hear whether Bravo will be picking the show up for another season, the network’s former vice president of original programming,Andy Cohen,is weighing in.
Appearing on Lewis’ SiriusXM showJeff LewisLiveon Tuesday, Cohen, 50, gave insight into how executives might be thinking about the long-running show, which wrapped up its eleventh season in November among asea of controversywith an episode that showedLewis and his longtime friend and coworker Jenni Pulos parting ways.
Asked if he would pick the show up were he still in charge, theWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohenhost said it “depends on the cost” to produce. “I don’t know, I don’t know what the financials are,” he explained. “I don’t know if it’s as big of a moneymaker as you think. I don’t know, I don’t.”
“I don’t follow the ratings of other shows much,” added Cohen — who is still an executive producer on theReal Housewivesfranchise and runs the SiriusXM channel Radio Andy, which airs Lewis’s show. “I look at mine and theHousewives, frankly.”
In the finale, Lewis, 48, and Pulos, 45, got into an explosive fight — Lewis laterterminating Pulos’ employmentat his house flipping and interior design firm,Jeff LewisDesign.
Since then, Lewis and Pulos haven’t spoken at all, their relationship exploding into controversy with Lewis alleging that Pulos hadn’t worked for for him for “years” and claiming that she hadfiled claims of wrongful termination, abuse and victimization against him.
She vehemently denied those claims to PEOPLE in November whenspeaking out about the fight for the first time. “Citing wrongful termination claim, wrong. Citing abuse claim, wrong. Citing victimization claim, wrong,” Pulos said. “[Our relationship] was very real. I was his employee and I worked for him. It was very authentic, and that’s important.”
The mother of two added that she was blindsided when he let her go fromJeff LewisDesign. “I had no idea it was coming,” Pulos said.
Isabella Vosmikova/NBC/Getty Images
Lewis previously said onJeff LewisLivethat hiscontract with Bravo was not renewedbefore an Oct. 15 deadline, though later clarified that his contract’s expiration doesn’t necessarily mean theshow had been cancelled. Meanwhile over 50,000 people have signed a petition to getFlipping Outanother season.
A rep for Bravo has told PEOPLE that no official decision has been made as toFlipping Out‘s future.
Lewis said on Tuesday that he was still interested in returning for another season.
“The viewers, do they just accept that [last episode]? I think there are a lot of people who would be interested to see, where do we go from here,” he said. “Let’s say we do a season 12 — if they want to follow Jenni and what she’s up to and they want to follow us, I’m open. I’m totally open to this.”
Cohen wasn’t against the idea, but he reiterated again that the decision wasn’t up to him. “I’m not in charge of programming at Bravo,” Cohen added. “It has nothing to do with me. I’m happy to talk about the radio, but I have nothing to do with Bravo. I really don’t have any say.”
Jeff Lewis Instagram
Fans who have been paying attention to the drama surroundingFlipping Out‘s eleventh season know that it’s been a rocky road for Lewis and Cohen.
Reading those alleged messages aloud apparently annoyed Cohen further. “You’re such an a——,” Lewis claimed Cohen texted him halfway through the show in response.
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank
Any bad blood between he and Lewis seems to be gone now.
“Let’s just put it this way, I’ve tried really hard to be an advocate,” he told Jeff on Tuesday. “It’s in my best interest for everybody to get along. Do you understand? I don’t want to be in the middle of this. I think you’re casting me as someone who is not on your team. I’m on your team. Which is a frustrating team to be on.”
In the end, Lewis said he just hoped that his track history made up for any problems he may have caused.
“The last 11 years, I’ve been a pretty good team player. So you got to overlook!” he said. “There’s been a blip in the radar. There’s 10 and a half years of model behavior.”
And ifFlipping Outdoesn’t come back? “I’ll go anywhere,” Lewis said. “Anyone who’s hiring.”
Jeff LewisLiveairs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (11 a.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102.)
source: people.com
