Andy Cohen Responds to Jim Marchese's Criticism of Teresa Checks In
The #WWHL host offers his take on the #RHONJ husband's views on the Giudice family special.
Following the premiere of Real Housewives of New Jersey Teresa Checks In, RHONJ husband Jim Marchese offered his personal take on the three-part special, calling it "a dark endorsement of criminal behavior and exploitation of children." While the special wrapped up on October 24, his criticism remains a hot topic of discussion for Andy Cohen, who addressed his comments.
"First of all, he wasn't involved in the original show. He characterizes it as 'tongue and cheek fun, a guilty pleasure,' but it was pretty intense from the get-go," Andy said. "Teresa [Giudice] flipped a table in the finale of the first season, so if he calls that 'tongue and cheek fun [and] a guilty pleasure,' that's fine. I don't think it was that fun for Danielle Staub, actually. I got pushed like a rag doll in the Season 2 reunion, that didn't seem like 'tongue and cheek fun.'"
He continued, "I take issue with him saying, 'It is morphing into a dark endorsement of criminal behavior and exploitation of children.' He put his kids on the Housewives, so his kids — who are a lot younger — were on. And also, the thing about it is, we have been following this family for seven, eight years, and so we are continuing to follow them. There's great interest in what's going on with them. We haven't endorsed anyone's behavior on that show. We've shown it, as a matter of fact, without editorialization. And I would say the same for Jim's behavior, which many people thought he was a jack*** last season. We showed his behavior without any generalization. We left it on the viewers to make their own mind up."
Andy, noted that in the end, Jim is expressing his own views on the special. "Look, that's where hes coming from," he said. "I think people have opinions about it, but that's what's great about it. You can have opinions, and you can have them and they're all valid. So if that's what he thinks, then, wonderful."
Watch Teresa and husband Joe discuss their future together in a clip from Teresa Checks In.
