Photo by Heidi Gutman
This past weekend Donald Trump once again mounted the annual Miss USA Pageant. Bravo’s Andy Cohen and Giuliana Rancic from E! hosted the
event, which was broadcast live from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in
Las Vegas! Although they were both new to
NBC and the competition, they each have experience with The Donald. In a recent
conference call interview they discussed their connections to the real estate
mogul and what pageant they’d create if they could make their own.
Cohen is not
only Bravo’s main programming executive, but he’s become an on air personality
in his own right. He moderates the Real Housewives franchise reunion shows
and his own live series Watch What Happens: Live, which airs on his network
twice a week.
He recalled
what impressed him most when he met Mr. Trump. The host, known for
asking the hard questions of his stable of reality TV stars said, “I hosted a
Q&A with him in Vegas a few years ago. And the thing that I found amusing
and that I liked about him was that I found that you really can ask him
anything and he’ll answer it. So I found that quite entertaining.”
Rancic has an even more personal connection to The Donald.
She remarked, “My husband [Bill Rancic] was the first Apprentice. Donald hired
him. And so if it wasn’t for Donald I would, gosh, who was the runner-up, Kwame
Jackson? I would be Mrs. Kwame Jackson. So I owe Donald basically my marriage
and my future children. I owe him everything.”
Thanks to her hubby, Rancic has come in contact with Trump
and his third wife Melania. She recounted, “I have met Donald several times
throughout the years. And what I love most about him is he is such a fan of pop
culture. He knows everything going on in entertainment news and so does
Melania. And I just think it is hilarious. So I’m a big fan. And I’m very
excited that he asked me to do this with Andy.”
So what would these two pop culture gurus come up with if
they could create their own pageants? Rancic had an idea to incorporate all of
her entertainment network co-stars. She suggested, “I will do Miss E! We’ll put
all the E! people into one pageant and just kind of see where it goes, men and
women.” The name of her show might be a little misleading but the idea is money
in the bank with a list of competitors that could include Joel McHale, Kim Kardashian
and Ryan Seacrest among so many others.
Andy, being the programming genius that he is, came up with
a surefire hit on the spot. He brainstormed, “I would like to do maybe The
Ultimate Housewife Pageant. I think that would be fun. Just throw all the
housewives up on a stage and whittle it down.” Even he seemed impressed with
his ability to be able to come up with something so marketable without any
forethought adding, “I think we just spit-balled ourselves into a great idea.
It might be a little shark jumpy but I like it. I’m going to think about it.”
And if he does decide he likes the idea, he can just go
ahead and give himself a green light. Cohen talked about balancing his time
between being Bravo’s programming head and one of its biggest on-screen
talents. He confessed, “It’s not easy…. I’m lucky, because I love live TV. And
my show is live. And so I really just spend a few hours after work, after my
day job is over, doing my live duties.”
Andy seemed to have a very clear delineation of his dual
roles, saying, “From morning until night, I’m focused on Bravo programming. And
then after hours is when I have a little fun in the Bravo Clubhouse. The
reunion shows really only wind up being seven or eight days out of the year.”
And despite a little bit of added pressure, he seems to be
taking it all stride. He admitted, “So far it’s okay. It can get a little hairy
and a little stressful. But it’s all fun. And I happen to have two great jobs
that I love very much. So I am very lucky.” Mazel, Andy!
Catch Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens: Live every Thursday
and Sunday night at 11 p.m. PST/10 p.m. Central on Bravo and Giuliana on the
Fashion Police at 10:30 p.m. EST/9:30 p.m. Central on E!
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