Andy Cohen on Marriage Equality, Finding a Womb, and Eloping With Young Journalists

Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty

Who doesn't love Andy Cohen? He's handsome, uber-successful, and hilarious to boot. The talk show host and author of The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Yearsat down with Out to discuss his partnership with the W Hotels marriage equality initiative, Turn It Up for Change, which hosted an event for the release of Jennifer Hudson's new music video, "I Still Love You", in support of same-sex marriage in all 50 states and the Human Rights Campaign.

Turn It Up For Change, has raised over $100,000 in funding for the HRC. With a Supreme Court decision on marriage equality coming later this month, we asked Cohen about what marriage equality means to him, his work with the HRC, and much, much more.

OUT: So, first of all: Happy birthday!

Andy Cohen: Thank you. Thank you.

I saw you got dinner with Sarah Jessica Parker.

I did. I did. I had a little joint birthday party with Anderson [Cooper] last night.

Very cool. How was that?

It was really fun. We're Gemini brothers.

Oh, really? I'm a Scorpio... I've heard you're also BFFs with Sarah Jessica. Is there something about her that people don't know?

Just that she's as wonderful as you could possibly imagine. I mean, she's really great.

She seems amazing.

I mean, yeah, she's really thoughtful. She's one of those people who doesn't forget a person that she meets. Like, if she met you, and saw you two years from now, she'd be like 'Oh, hey! I remember you!'

How did you guys become so close?

We met when I was a producer on The Morning Show, at CBS. I saw her a year later when I was at the first Vanity Fair party, I was behind the rope, interviewing people. And she remembered me from that day.

How did you get involved with the Turn It Up for Change campaign and the Human Rights Campaign?

I'm a big supporter of HRC. I love the Turn It Up for Change campaign that they're doing with W Hotels. And I also love [staying at] the W Hotels, actually. So that's a great partnership. And I love JHud. So I'm happy to be promoting the cause, which is marriage equality, and getting people to understand, and hoping that this thing passes at the end of June.

Have you worked with HRC in the past?

I've been honored by HRC in the past. I've hosted things for them. And I've given money to them.

That's important. So speaking of gay marriage, do you have any plans to get married any time soon?

Well, I have to fall in love first. After I fall in love, yeah, I would like to get married.

Any plans on eloping with anyone? Maybe a young journalist?

Are you proposing to me?

Kind of!

You are? Do you have a ring?

I have this pen.

Well, I have this pen.

Guess it won't work out then.

Yeah, I mean, you know... I'm worried you might be too young for me.

I'm twenty one.

I'm a little old for you, don't you think?

Maybe. I've never been with an older man, so...

You have good things in store for you.

Moving on. I've been reading your memoir, The Andy Cohen Diaries, and I love it. I've been listening to the audiobook.

Oh, that makes me happy, because I hated recording it.

Oh, really? It seems like you were having such a good time!

I wasn't. It's just exhausting. It's like 370 pages, so it took me a long time. And I do a lot of voices, as you know.

You said you didn't like the Martha Stewart impression you were doing, but I thought it was so good! You were spot on.

Thank you. Maybe you'll listen to my first book, Most Talkative, on tape when you're done with this one.

That's what the plan is. Do you have any advice for young gay writers who try to follow in your footsteps?

Just keep writing, and develop your voice. And make it unique, and make it feel like you, and be an individual and be yourself and find your humor. Don't be afraid to keep writing.

What about advice for young gay comedians?

I'm the only gay talk show host in late night television, and I think that being gay is something that I happen to be. It's not who I am -- it doesn't totally define everything that I am. I think that's a good way to be, professionally. You don't have to ghetto-ize yourself and say, 'No, but I'm just a gay comedian.' You're a comedian who happens to be gay.

I was watching Watch What Happens Live when Jennifer Hudson was a guest, and she said that she would have your babies...

Did she?

Apparently you said that backstage JHud said she would have your babies.

Wow!

So is that going to happen?

I'm happy to be reminded that she offered. Maybe I should take her up on that. I'm looking for a good womb.

Aren't we all?

Are you?

Um, well, not right now.

You just crawled out of the womb.

Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

Just to turn it up for change, check out the video, tell your friends about marriage equality, and get involved with HRC.

Is there a question you've never been asked before that you're dying to answer?

Tell me what you want to know, and I'll tell you.

Ok... What's the most embarrassing thing you've done in your career?

I was hosting the Miss Universe pageant once, and they said in my ear 'We are running short, so we added some stuff to the teleprompter, so just read it, it's introductions of people.' So I'm like, 'Now we're going to introduce last year's Miss Universe,' and her name was spelled X-I-M-something-something... So I completely botched her name on world television, which was embarrassing.

That's too bad. You did that with Quvenzhane Wallis in the book, too.

You're right, I did. There have been a lot of embarrassing moments. I'm just a story away from my next embarrassing moment. That's what's so great about live television.

Donate to the Human Rights Campaign at HRC.org. Watch Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, Sunday through Thursday on Bravo, at 11PM EST.