If you’re one of those people who spends New Year’s Eve watching CNN — and who isn’t — this year’s soiree is going to be a little different. There’s a new sheriff in town, namely CEO Chris Licht, and he’s been cleaning things up. One of his changes is a new rule for their NYE coverage: no getting plastered on-air — with two exceptions. (And one isn’t Don Lemon.)
As per Variety, Licht, who took over in May, took part in a town hall with CNN staffers, during which he discussed CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage. Traditionally it’s been a time for everyone on air, anchors and whatnot, to knock back a couple, or much more than that, all while on live television. But no more: Licht feels the sight of boozing reporters damages the “respectability” of the news network, and now they’ll have to stand around, enjoying the booziest night of the year while stone cold sober.
There are, as state, two exceptions, and it’s not hard to guess who they are. Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen can still get tanked on their New Year’s Eve show, probably because them getting stinking drunk on air has become a holiday tradition. Last year, for instance, saw a visibly hammered Cohen ranting against his NYE coverage competitor Ryan Seacrest (but not Pete Davidson and Miley Cyrus) as well as then-exiting NYC mayor Bill de Blasio. Cohen later apologized to Seacrest but not de Blasio.
Andy Cohen just dragged Bill DeBlasio up and down 7th Avenue #CNNNYE pic.twitter.com/5m1DEVvZwx
— Wes Reynolds (@WesReynolds1) January 1, 2022
Anyway, there’s nothing more fun than being one of the only drunk people in a room full of sober folks, as Cooper and Cohen will soon find out.
(Via Variety)