Tituss v. Andy Cohen

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 5:37pm

Tituss was on Watch What Happens Live (presumably to promote his new album and an upcoming project) last night and got into a little tiff with host Andy Cohen...

WWHL 7/28

Today, he posted on this on his instagram:

Tituss Insta

It was hard to watch two big personalities clash, but personally I wonder what Tituss expected from WWHL. Andy isn't known for being particularly classy with his guests, and WWHL is trash TV of the same level of Real Housewives. Messy, fun, but not serious by any means. I mean, this where Patti staright-up called Madonna a "movie-killer!"

Will be interesting to see if/how Andy responds...

Edited so the Instagram link works.

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 05:37 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 5:46pm

Whatever he wrote on his Instagram has since been deleted.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 5:47pm

If you looked at it based on my original link, it didn't work. The new link should be accurate.

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 6:49pm

It's garbage television and Andy is a busy guy, sometimes he forgets stuff like about lyrics to the Preacher's Wife.

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 06:49 PM

[Wildcard]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:02pm

Andy is a naturally curious guy and I don't think he meant any offense with his question to Titus. Though tactless, I enjoy his interviews because he asks the questions people may want to know but are afraid to ask.   However, Andy's mistake was in thinking Eddie had issues against LGBTQ people. His "issue" was that he was arrested with a transgender prostitute in the past. 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:09pm

Wildcard said: "Andy is a naturally curious guy and I don't think he meant any offense with his question to Titus. Though tactless, I enjoy his interviews because he asks the questions people may want to know but are afraid to ask. However, Andy's mistake was in thinking Eddie had issues against LGBTQ people. His "issue" was that he was arrested with a transgender prostitute in the past."

Eddie Murphy was notoriously homophobic in the 1980's and early 1990's.  We were the 'butt" of his jokes in many of his standup routines.  He also stated a lot of hateful things about people living with AIDS.  

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 07:09 PM

[Wildcard]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:11pm

Ah, ok. My mistake, I don't remember that. Then that makes his question even more valid. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:18pm

Tituss didn't delete it. It was a comment to another post, not its own post. The reply (although i can't find what he replied to) is: "She can be a messy queen! Yes I said it! Don’t care he knows either! He should remember his talk show isn’t an episode of the real housewives of Atlanta! It’s a place where artists come to talk about art and have a little fun. NOT a place to rehash old rumors or bring a star negative press. Sunday was a display of ratchet behavior by a well connected man having blatant disregard for one of his guests. If only time were taken to know who I am and not assuming that I am the character I play on tv he would know how to conduct a proper interview with at all! I received 4 Emmy nominations for acting! NOT for being my self. He was lucky I had my wits and Christian values THAT day. Always keep it classy. Being friends with other talented celebrities doesn’t make you talented it makes you friends with other famous celebrities! He should rip a page from Anderson Cooper and learn how to do his job."

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:24pm

I was like "am I missing something"?

He actually didn't need to ask the question but it is valid. Tituss seemed to take it negatively though and I don't think it was meant to be. Cohen was digging up old dirt which I would think one should expect to happen on this show. JMO

[Fredrich Yeager]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:31pm

Honestly, I'm glad Tituss said something. I can't stand Andy Cohen, and he paints himself as a gay icon and the pop culture guru and nobody says anything to keep him in line. He asks invasive questions, and puts them in a position where they can't refuse to answer or change the subject or else they'll seem rude. He thinks he's being funny by doing this but truly he's interfering in people's personal lives for his own (and his rabid fans' amusement. Celebrities pretend to get along with him, but he has no regard for anyone's privacy and decency except his own. He makes a bad name for gay men everywhere, but because he is gay and falls into so many of those classic stereotypes, most people can't call him out without being labeled homophobic. I'm glad Tituss, an openly queer man who has done a lot for the community, is taking him to task for his behavior.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:37pm

I just watched. It seems like a valid question from Andy. It Tituss was upset with anyone it should be Murphy who did say some vile things back in the day. I do believe people can evolve and it should’ve been just an opportunity to demonstrate that which it was until Burgess decided to throw shade as they were moving on and apparently on IG afterward.

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 07:37 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:41pm

On a light and barely sober show like that, a line of questioning like that should've been pre-approved, because the aftermath could get very rough for Tituss very easily. It's not like an old project, it's something that Tituss has coming up. Messy Queen Andy lives to stir the sh*t for those viral moments and I'm happy Tituss had enough self-confidence to knock it down.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 8:06pm

Maybe an agent worth their salt would know what kind of show WWHL is. This is the show where Brandi Glanville said that Joanna Krupa's vagina smelled and was sued for it. So... know the platform you're on and what its history is. It's not like the show has changed in the past 10 years - it's all about Andy being messy and asking inappropriate questions. It's not an Oprah interview.

Also, Andy may be messy, but the one topic he goes DEEP on is LGBT rights and issues. In his first book he wrote at length about how personally hurt he was by Murphy's stand-up. So the topic didn't come out of the blue.

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 08:06 PM

[moorfx]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 8:24pm

Andy didn't ask Tituss to comment on Eddie Murphy's past behavior. He asked what is what like to work with him now. When Tituss didn't take the bait and say something negative, Andy twisted his little blade and brought up how Eddie used to be "problematic with the Gays". 

Tituss stayed in the present and again stated how his interaction with Eddie Murphy during filming was positive. Andy is messy and that's his claim to fame. Serving tea can be campy fun but asking Tituss to be the barometer for Eddie Murphy's current attitude toward gay people was too broad a question for this quaint little chat show. 

It's not Tituss v. Andy. It's Actor v. Gossipmonger. And the actor slayed. 

 

[perfectliar]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 8:25pm

Fredrich Yeager said: "He asks invasive questions, and puts them in a position where they can't refuse to answer or change the subject or else they'll seem rude."

It's his literal job to ask invasive questions, but this wasn't even one of them. And OF COURSE people can refuse to answer. It happens all the time on the show. Tituss's problem was that he didn't just brush it off with a joke and took it personally. He could have easily had a response like Laverne's, which was that "people evolve," but Tituss got defensive and rude instead. But it worked, because he's getting a lot more press today and is now directing people to his EP on social media rather than issuing an actual response or inviting a conversation with Andy.

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 08:25 PM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 8:54pm

Interesting. I've never met Andy in person, but I took a master class type thing with Tituss (through a company) and I remember him being super positive and funny. He joked about a 9-year old singing "Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime and after I sang "Half As Big As Life" from Promises, Promises. he looked me dead in the eye and said "You know yourself." So I have nothing negative to say. Of course, this was in 2014 before Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt started airing so perhaps mainstream fame hanged things or the company just paid him good money to quip and behave himself.

[SchuylWERKsister]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 9:12pm

There are a lot of factors at play here.

First off, there’s intersectionality. As a Black Queer man Titus shares an identity with both Andy and Eddie. This doesn’t excuse Eddie’s comments or history, but I also understand why Titus may not want to participate in a questioning that could potentially tear down another Black man on national television. That could be heightened by this scenario being prompted by a non POC queer person who doesn’t have a history of engagement with intersectional queerness.

Additionally, Eddie Murphy produced Dolemite and Andy’s question sort of inadvertently calls Titus’ integrity into question given Eddie’s past and comments.

It’s an awkward and complex situation. I do agree that something along the lines of “people evolve” ala Laverne Cox would have been a great answer.

I also found Andy asking if Eddie spoke to Titus backhanded and messy.

 

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 09:12 PM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 9:14pm

Funny how verbatim passages of Murphy’s notoriously homophobic stand-up act have mysteriously disappeared...

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 9:22pm

That Instagram post, though. Seems a bit defensive and over-the-top. And is flaunting one's Christian values a Christian value? Or is going public with a vindictive little rant about a colleague "always keeping it classy"?

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 9:33pm

Cohen is trenchant.  A child does make him any more palatable. 

Titus has talent and is serious about it.  I respect that.  While he should have known he was walking into a ****storm in the first place, that's no reason for Cohen to act like the turd he is.

 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:00pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: "Funny how verbatim passages of Murphy’s notoriously homophobic stand-up act have mysteriously disappeared..."

I was going to state to Ellie (along with it being a great post) how long do you think your post and mine will stay up or get deleted?  Hers...not long.  Mine, surprisingly, still there.  These are not opinions, moderators, these are facts from his past that he has admitted to and apologized for.  You don't apologize for your behavior if you are not guilty of doing something wrong. It is very disrespectful to delete posts without giving a reason why.  During your PattiGate scandel, Management stated going forward that they would give a reason to members  for deleting posts.   That didn't last very long.  Nor will my post. 

Updated On: 7/29/19 at 10:00 PM

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:52pm

The problem is who Andy is shady to. Nicki Minaj actually called him on on air that he was asking her sexual/personal questions in plead the fifth but gave Taylor Swift "what color do you hate?" level questions. He'll ask a D-list celeb something gross but his bff Sarah Jessica Parker gets "what shoe was your favorite on sex and the city?" 
 

John Cena was on recently talking about his brother and he was talking about supporting him being gay he said things like "when he chose to be gay" several times and Andy baaaaaarely pushed back. 

[vanbrig]

Posted: 7/30/19 at 9:28am

Sally Durant Plummer said: "Maybe an agent worth their salt would know what kind of show WWHL is. This is the show where Brandi Glanville said that Joanna Krupa's vagina smelled and was sued for it. So... know the platform you're on and what its history is. It's not like the show has changed in the past 10 years - it's all about Andy being messy and asking inappropriate questions. It's not an Oprah interview.
 

My thoughts exactly. I think everyone knew what they were getting themselves into. Either way, we're talking about it now, which is probably exactly what all parties involved were going for. 

[Moderator]

Posted: 7/30/19 at 10:09am

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[haterobics]

Posted: 7/30/19 at 12:35pm

I think the bigger issue is that Tituss was there to promote his album, not a movie coming out in the fall... so a lot of it was likely stemming from why that was the topic. But then for it to go off-topic AND ask about the anti-LGBT past of the star and producer of said movie... that seemed a bit much to him?