Ryan Seacrest Supports CNN Cutting Back on New Year’s Drinking — Recalling Andy Cohen’s Drunken Dig at Him During 2021 Broadcast

Ryan Seacrest said he agrees with the decision to cut back on drinking during CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage, citing a shot taken against him by an inebriated Andy Cohen during the 2021 CNN broadcast that may still sting.

CNN CEO Chris Licht has strongly discouraged boozing during the annual CNN special, famed for the tipsy revelry of hosts Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen and Don Lemon.

Variety reported last month that Licht told staff and anchors that “he felt on-camera drinking eroded the credibility of CNN personnel and damaged the ‘respectability’ they may enjoy among viewers.”

Seacrest, who hosts the competing show, Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest on ABC, called the decision “a good idea.”

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Seacrest was asked about his feelings on the no-booze policy.

“I don’t advocate drinking when one is on the air. I don’t know how that started as a tradition, but it’s probably a good idea [to scale back], CNN,” Seacrest said.

“There’s some pretty respectable people or at least one, right? I think there’s a serious journalist and then a friend of mine who has a lot of fun, but it’s probably a good idea,” he added. “Although the viewers probably wish they would drink more.”

Seacrest recalled a shout out he received from Andy Cohen back in 2021 when he saw Seacrest’s ABC production in the distance.

“If you look behind me, you’ll see Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers performing. I’m sorry but if you’re watching ABC, you’re watching nothing,” Cohen said.

In the EW interview, Seacrest said, “I think they had something to say about my show at one point, which was I’m sure from the alcohol because, I don’t think they would say what they said about our performers if they weren’t drinking.”

“But, you know, I think our show’s a bigger, broader show and we will not drink until 1:05 in the morning. Although, I might send them some Casa Dragones Tequila just to tempt them while they’re on the air,” Seacrest concluded.