Kevin Hart became a voice for the people Saturday night when he lashed out at CNN’s new rule barring Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen and other presenters of the news network’s New Year’s Eve bash from drinking on-air.
Hart spoke with Cohen and Cooper from Las Vegas, where he’s ringing in 2023 with a stand-up special. in front of a well-stocked bar, Hart drops a shot to the two hosts, saying that they had been “hoodwinked” before the censors got past some of the profanity.
“I can’t believe they put this crap on you guys!” As Cohen and Cooper burst into laughter, Hart screamed. “That’s right, CNN, I said s—! I said horses—! I said bulls—! I said it all! I’m pissed. I’m sorry you got to calm these two guys down here today! Here’s a That’s the shot you’re about to do – from me to you guys.
The no booze rule came down from recently installed CNN chief Chris Licht in response to Cohen’s drunken trash talk last year on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” which featured rock band Journey without its former lead. was on broadcast. Frontman Steve Perry. Cohen called the Perry-less Journey “a bunch of losers” and said that anyone watching ABC that night “saw nothing.”
Cohen and Cooper tried to have fun with the sober mandate on-air by drinking things like pickle juice and apple cider vinegar, but were pointed out about the rule not only by Hart but also by other guests like Amy Sedaris and John Stamos.
“I’m glad you’re not drinking. I haven’t had a drink in seven and a half years,” Stamos commented. “But you’re more fun when you drink.”
The hosts finally got a drink after the clock struck midnight and the ball dropped on Times Square when “Succession” star Brian Cox gifted them a bottle of champagne. But Hart urged CNN to reverse the rule next New Year’s Eve and not tamper with a good formula.
Hart said, “You can’t take away the debauches or the narcissists that make them who they are.” “You guys are who you are. You shine on this stage because they let you be who you are. Don’t take it that way. You celebrate it, and you toast it, and you raise it. That’s good TV. That’s why good TV works.