Yahoo Finance Andy Cohen Claps Back at RHOC Alum Kelly Dodd Over Season 16 Ratings: It's 'Going Great'
Andy Cohen is defending season 16 of The Real Housewives of Orange County amid criticism from alum Kelly Dodd.
Dodd, 46, exited the show after the previous season alongside Braunwyn Windham-Burke and Elizabeth Lyn Vargas, making room for a cast shakeup that included the additions of former Housewife Heather Dubrow as well as newcomers Noella Bergener and Jennifer Armstrong.
Returning stars Shannon Beador, Gina Kirschenheiter and Emily Simpson are also part of the current season.
Dodd called out the show's ratings on Twitter Monday night, prompting a response from executive producer Cohen, 53.
"Wait, wasn't I the ratings problem ? Wasn't there a boycott ?? We got over a million viewers 14 out of 16 weeks last season despite HUGE competition from election coverage on the news !!! This year ? #RHOC16 under a million 3x in 4 weeks ! Hey @Andy How's that reboot going ???" Dodd wrote.
RELATED: RHOC's Heather Dubrow Doesn't Regret Calling Former Costar Kelly Dodd 'Trash' on TV
Good morning! Reboot going great. Feels like a return to form for #RHOC. Look at the delayed numbers, not live. That’s what’s measured.
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) December 28, 2021
"Good morning!" Cohen replied on Tuesday. "Reboot going great. Feels like a return to form for #RHOC. Look at the delayed numbers, not live. That's what's measured."
The mentions of a "reboot" refer to another Twitter conversation the Watch What Happens Live host had on Twitter earlier this year, when Shut Up Evan podcast host Evan Ross Katz tweeted, "It's time to cancel RHOC."
When avid Bravo fan Meghan McCain replied back, "Yes," the exchange caught the attention of Cohen, who wrote, "I think you mean reBOOT."
Dodd, who married Fox News' Rick Leventhal in October, has sparked controversy among fans for outlandish comments about the COVID-19 pandemic, among other topics, for which she has since apologized.
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RELATED: Kelly Dodd Says It's Braunwyn Windham-Burke's 'Fault' They're Not Returning to RHOC
While appearing on SiriusXM's Jeff Lewis Live in June alongside her husband, Dodd claimed she was "blindsided" by her exit from RHOC when she got a call from producers.
"I said, 'Well, why? Was it political?' and he said, 'No. Bravo wanted to take a different direction than you,'" she said.
Host Lewis, 51, also asked Dodd if the decision could have been "personal" and whether she had "insult[ed] any executives" — to which Dodd said she did.
"I did," she said, adding, "Listen, ultimately I got fired because of myself. I'm the one who got myself fired. I was like Howard Stern with WNBC. I had the executives calling me, and Emily's like, 'Who are they?' and I'm like, well, they know me! I know them! But I was causing them a lot of grief. I was causing them a lot of trouble."
Dodd added, "And, you know, I'm sorry about that. I feel bad."
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs Wednesdays (9 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
