Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper are co-hosting New Year’s Eve live in Times Square, New York for the sixth year. This year, though, is a little different.
For the first time, Cohen and Cooper’s NYE did not include a reporter drinking alcohol on camera. The change comes after last year’s airing, when Cohen made comments about Journey and Ryan Seacrest’s band, which he claimed were “
overblown .”
Watch What Happens Live Host, who has been drinking with Cooper during the NYE show , saw Journey performing at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rock Night without their former frontman Steve Perry. He referred to the show’s guests as “Ryan Seacrest’s bunch of losers” and said anyone who tuned in to ABC that night “didn’t see anything.”
Consequently, Cohen and Cooper were not allowed to drink until after midnight, when Brian Cox brought them a bottle of champagne. Instead of alcohol, they have mystery shots like apple cider vinegar, buttermilk, and pickle juice on top of each hour. But the sober night didn’t go unnoticed by some of the show’s guests, like John Stamos, Kevin Hart and Amy Sedaris.
At the start of the four-hour broadcast, Sedaris asked the hosts what they would eat if they didn’t drink on the show, then went on to list the names of the silly-sounding drugs, Examples include Reindeer Powder, Scorpion Seed, Thunder, and Applejack Diablo Powder.
“Is this all thermal matter?” Cooper asked Sedaris. “It’s hot stuff,” she replied, adding, “Did you smoke it? Did you chew it? Dilute it with water and drink it? Did you rub it on each other’s private parts?”
Next up is Stamos, who appears in the video in a tuxedo at home with his wife and son. When Cohen asked him to host Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Heather Locklear at 2023, Stamos admits he doesn’t remember much because they drank “not like you”.
“I’m glad you didn’t drink. I haven’t had a drink in seven and a half years,” the actor continued. “But it’s more fun when you’re drinking.”
Later in the evening, Cohn and Cooper hand things over to Hart, who is Live in Las Vegas where he will perform his stand-up special REALITY CHECK: THE NEW YEARS EVE EXPERIENCE . From the start, Hart has expressed his disappointment that the guys are staying sober on this year’s show.
“I’ll do what you can’t,” the comedian told the host. “Imma give it a try because you guys are being hoodwinked. I can’t believe you. I can’t believe CNN telling you guys not to do it in such a good, real way Way to relax. That’s the perfect TV.”
Hart continued, parts of which were leaked online, “I can’t believe what they did to you guys. That’s right CNN, I was talking shit. I was sycophant. I was talking crap. I said it all. I’m mad. I’m mad that you woke these two up today. That’s what you guys should do Shots — from me to you.”
He ends on a more serious and positive note, saying that great TV is made by great people being themselves.
“You can’t get rid of the vice or drug that made them what they are,” Hart said. “You’re who you are. You shine on this platform because they made you who you are. Don’t go that way. You celebrate it, you toast it, and you amplify it. That’s what good TV is. That’s what good is.” TV work.”
