Andy Cohen defends hope Real Housewives star Jen Shah would avoid jail time in new interview

Andy Cohen defended his initial reaction to Jen Shah’s telemarketing scheme and his hope that she would not face jail time.

The TV presenter, 54, was interviewed by CNN’s Chris Wallace, 75, on Sunday, who said: “You said officially last November that you were hoping she wouldn’t face jail time. Why would you side with her against the thousands of people she has betrayed, including many elderly people?’

The Bravo manager explained: “I think I was hoping that she was actually innocent. However, Wallace was quick to reply, “She pleaded guilty!”

Defending his words: Andy Cohen defended his initial reaction to Jen Shah’s nationwide telemarketing program and his hopes she wouldn’t face jail time in a new CNN interview

“That was before she pleaded guilty, I mean saying that I would think?” Cohen responded to the grilling about Shah, 49.

“No,” Wallace replied, “I think it was after.”

‘Oh, really?’ Cohen – who serves as executive producer on the Real Housewives franchises – replied sheepishly, “Oh god. Um, anyway! Wow, that’s fun.”

Grilled: ‘Why would you stand up to the thousands of people she cheated on, including many elderly people? [people]?’ CNN’s Chris Wallace, 75, asked the 54-year-old TV host on Sunday

Hope of innocence: Cohen explained, “I think I was hoping that she was actually innocent. However, Wallace was quick to reply, “She pled guilty!”; Shah pictured leaving Manhattan Federal Courthouse on January 6, 2023 in NYC

Cohen said he doesn’t remember the exact “context” of his comment but said viewers “demanded” to know Shah’s status on the show.

“And I say, ‘It’s up to the judge. She’s about to be sentenced to a long prison term,” he told Wallace, who reminded him that Shah “did something bad.”

“Yes she has. And that’s why she should go to jail,’ he agreed.

“You know, sometimes when you meet someone and you like them, you hope they’re not guilty of something terrible,” he added.

Tense: ‘That was before she pleaded guilty, I mean saying that I would think?’ Cohen responded to the grilling. “No,” Wallace replied, “I think it was after.”

His side of the story: “You know, sometimes when you meet someone and you like them, you hope that something terrible isn’t their fault,” he added

Cohen’s first quote comes from a November 2022 interview with Us Weekly in which he discussed whether Shah would return for Season 4 of RHOSLC.

“She’s going to be sentenced on December 15, so I don’t know what to say to people who want her on the show. I hope she doesn’t get jail time at all and can come right back…but I have a feeling she won’t be available for the show,” he said at the time.

However, Shah did not attend the Season 3 reunion and was absent from BravoCon, which was held in October 2022. She has been a cast member of RHOSLC throughout its three-year run on Bravo as of November 2020.

Shah was sentenced earlier this month to six and a half years in prison for running a year-long telemarketing scheme that prosecutors said targeted the elderly and vulnerable, robbing them of their life savings and draining their credit cards.

Jail sentence: Shah was sentenced earlier this month to six and a half years in prison for running a year-long telemarketing scheme that prosecutors said was targeting the elderly

Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City star: The 49-year-old was one of the most bombastic characters in the Bravo series

She pleaded guilty to a wire fraud count in July in a dramatic about-face by the defense. She is scheduled to go to jail on February 17 and will serve her sentence at a facility in Texas.

Shah herself sobbed as she read a statement to the court, claiming her reality TV personality was nothing more than acting. She pledged to raise $6.5 million in compensation to bring the victims back to health and said she intends to do so from prison.

But prosecutors showed no mercy, telling the court how Shah once laughed at one of her victims tearfully calling the company about losing all her money.

Shah, one of the most bombastic characters in her Bravo reality TV franchise, denied any wrongdoing for months.

She then dramatically changed her plea deal in July after her former assistant, Stuart Smith, pleaded guilty.

Reality World: Shah has been a cast member of RHOSLC for the entire three seasons of Bravo as of November 2020; Shown in a promotional shot from Season 3