Andy Cohen Files to Dismiss Leah McSweeney's Lawsuit but Her Attorney Argues the Motion Has No Merit - NhungD

Andy Cohen has filed to dismiss Leah McSweeney's lawsuit alleging toxic workplace culture and discrimination.

In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Cohen has asked a judge to dismiss McSweeney's previous claims that she had faced sex/gender, religious and disability discrimination in a "hostile work environment" during her time on the Real Housewives franchise.

The motion comes about three months after McSweeney sued Cohen, Bravo, Shed Media and other subsidiaries in February for allegedly establishing a "rotted" workplace culture where cast members were pressured to consume alcohol and other drugs.

 Leah McSweeney and Andy Cohen. 

PHOTO: JOHN NACION/WIREIMAGE; CHARLES SYKES/BRAVO VIA GETTY

The Real Housewives of New York City alum also claimed that the defendants failed to maintain a safe working environment and accommodate her disabilities, including "alcohol use disorder" and "mental health disorders" in order to "create morbidly salacious reality television."

Stating that McSweeney's allegations are "threadbare" and should be "dismissed as a matter of law," Cohen's file to dismiss says that the reality star's discrimination claims "impermissibly seek to abridge Defendants’ First Amendment rights to tailor and adjust the messages they wish to convey in their creative works, including through cast selection and other creative decisions."

While the defendants explicitly state that they've never intended to use the Real Housewives franchise to "feature inebriated cast members," to do so would be within their First Amendment rights regarding decisions within casting and directing.

Leah McSweeney and Dorinda Medley on 'The Real Housewives of New York City'. 

PHOTO: HEIDI GUTMAN/BRAVO

"'Whatever messages' Defendants 'communicate or intended to communicate' with their shows is protected by the First Amendment," the document continues. "Judicial intervention into casting decisions for expressive works “impermissibly regulate[s] [Defendants’] right to alter the content of the story [they] tell —or choose not to tell.”

The filing also responded to McSweeney's claims that she experienced gender/sex-based harassment or discrimination at the hands of Cohen through text messages. In response to the allegations, the document invoked Title VII and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), stating that the Bravolebrity's claims were "untimely" and had surpassed the statute of limitations.

The lawsuit alleges that McSweeney's "only timely allegation of sex/gender discrimination," which involved Cohen commenting "that [Plaintiff's] recent breast augmentation made her a real ‘Housewife'" was "insufficient" to satisfy NYCHRL standards.

In response to Cohen's filing, McSweeney's attorney shared a statement with PEOPLE on her behalf.

“We do not agree that the motion has merit — it mostly argues for dismissal on technical grounds essentially saying that Defendants were allowed to discriminate against Ms. McSweeney — not that they did not do it," McSweeney's lawyer, Adelman-Matz co-founder Sarah Matz, tells PEOPLE. "To agree with the Defendants would be to essentially say that the creative industries are not subject to anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws and that networks could engage in discrimination and retaliation with impunity, which is not the law.”

Andy Cohen on 'Watch What Happens Live'. 

PHOTO: CHARLES SYKES/BRAVO VIA GETTY

On May 8, Cohen spoke out about Sweeney's allegations — among others he's faced — and told The Hollywood Reporter that the claims were "hurtful."

“Obviously, it’s no fun to be a target,” he said. “But I have no regrets about the way I’ve handled anything. I think everything that happens in your life informs the next thing that happens in your life. That’s the way I look at all this. I know what the truth is and I know how I’ve conducted myself, and I walk tall every day on that.”

Cohen added that he's “incredibly proud of the close relationships I’ve built in my 20 years” at Bravo, as he noted that he believes “most people involved with these shows have been very grateful for the platform.”