Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper Ring in 2020 with Lots of Laughs on CNN
Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper ended 2019 together as the co-hosts of CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live.
Throughout the night, Christina Aguilera, Lenny Kravitz, Shania Twain, Patti Labelle and 50 Cent joined the broadcast from New York City’s Times Square, which marked the third time Cohen, 51, and Cooper, 52, co-hosted New Year’s Eve together. They also video chatted with some special guests, including Cohen’s parents Evelyn and Lou and actress Lindsay Lohan.
Along with doing the show alongside one another, the longtime friends have hit the road together for their AC²: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen tour since 2015. “There’s a commonality that we have in that we’re both live on TV at night,” Cohen told PEOPLE. “And being on tour together is bonding.”
2019 marked a significant year for both Cohen and Cooper, who met 20 years ago when they were set up on a blind date.
In February, Cohen became a dad for the first time, welcoming son Benjamin via surrogate.
“I didn’t want to wait,” the Watch What Happens Live host told PEOPLE of his decision to become a single father. “To me it would have to be a very special person to say, ‘Let’s do this together.’ And I would love that, and that person could be having coffee down the street at this moment and I’ll meet him soon.”
When baby Benjamin received the title of PEOPLE’s Cutest Baby Alive in November, Cohen reflected on his first months as a dad. “Fatherhood is a new adventure every day, and watching Ben grow has been a total joy and eye-opening joy ride,” he said.
And (almost) eye injuring: ahead of Cooper and Cohen’s gig on Tuesday, Benjamin knocked off Cooper’s glasses as the TV personalities did their “New Year’s Eve prep” on Cohen’s Instagram stories.
Best New Year’s Eve planning meeting ever! JOIN US TONIGHT 8p-12:30am to ring in 2020! #cnnnye
A post shared by andersoncooper (@andersoncooper) on Dec 31, 2019 at 1:06pm PST
While Cohen grew his family in 2019, Cooper said goodbye to a member of his — his mom Gloria Vanderbilt. The heiress, socialite and style icon died at age 95 on June 17 after battling stomach cancer.
“Love is what she believed in more than anything,” Cooper said on-air in June, adding, “Gloria Vanderbilt died as she lived: on her own terms … she was ready to go.”
