Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper closed out 2025 and welcomed 2026 with their annual CNN’s New Yr’s Eve Reside particular.
The Bravo star, 57, and the journalist, 58, cohosted the published from New York Metropolis’s Instances Sq. for the ninth consecutive 12 months on Wednesday, December 31.
“Bottoms up: That is tequila!” Cohen declared earlier than doing a shot with Cooper to open the present. Afterward, the cohosts spoke about 2025 highlights, together with a visit to Disneyland with their children and watching Cher carry out throughout an occasion for Saturday Evening Reside‘s fiftieth anniversary.
“Cher referred to as me a pair weeks in the past,” Cooper mentioned, to which Cohen replied, “Did she ask for me?”
Cooper jokingly recalled Cher saying of Cohen, “How’s that troublemaker?”
The cohosts additionally talked about Ryan Seacrest, who hosts Dick Clark’s New Yr’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC.
“Did Ryan name you … or textual content you in the present day?” Cooper requested Cohen, who responded, “He texted me, like, yesterday or the day earlier than.”
Cooper mentioned that Seacrest had texted him that morning. In previous years, he famous, Seacrest had despatched him items.
“Like, a photograph of himself?” Cohen requested.
“No,” Cooper mentioned, including that Seacrest had beforehand despatched him tequila.
The longtime friends additionally mentioned the hit hockey romance collection Heated Rivalry, with Cohen telling Cooper, “Of the 2 of us, you’re Ilya and I’m Shane.”
“What?!” Cooper replied.
Along with Cohen and Cooper’s signature banter, CNN’s New Yr’s Eve Reside featured performances by Robyn, Shakira, Brandy and Monica, Bryan Adams, Florence + The Machine, Raye, Brandi Carlile, Aloe Blacc, Patti LaBelle and Michelle Williams and particular appearances by Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, B.J. Novak, Leanne Morgan and Sarah Sherman.
Since Cohen joined the published as Cooper’s cohost in 2017, the CNN New Yr’s Eve particular has constantly made headlines, maybe most notoriously when the community banned the duo from ingesting after Cohen shaded then-New York Metropolis mayor Invoice de Blasio and Seacrest through the 2021-2022 present.
“Watching Mayor de Blasio do his victory lap dance after 4 years of the crappiest time period because the mayor of New York — the one factor that Democrats and Republicans can agree on is what a horrible mayor he has been,” Cohen mentioned on the time. “So sayonara, sucka. 2022! It’s a brand new 12 months as a result of guess what? I’ve a sense I’m gonna be standing proper right here subsequent 12 months, and you understand who I’m not going to be dancing as town comes aside? You!”
Cohen was equally important of the Seacrest-hosted Dick Clark’s New Yr’s Rockin’ Eve.
“When you look behind me, you’ll see Ryan Seacrest’s group of losers performing. … I’m sorry however in case you’re watching ABC, you’re watching nothing,” he quipped. “We have been doused with confetti from pretend Journey on ABC. If it’s not Steve Perry, it doesn’t depend! You get it? It’s not Journey! It’s propaganda! It’s propaganda! It’s not Journey! It’s not Journey! No, that was not Journey. Steve Perry is Journey.”
Cohen later apologized to Seacrest, 51, and the 2 made amends. Cohen and Cooper have been nonetheless banned from ingesting through the 2022-2023 broadcast, however their tequila pictures custom returned the next 12 months.
Previous to the 2025-2026 present, Cooper and Cohen mirrored on their favourite reminiscences from their years of cohosting the New Yr’s Eve particular.
“We are able to’t speak about New Yr’s Eve with out speaking about your many, many events of being in a puddle of giggles,” Cohen instructed Cooper in a CNN video earlier this month. “I say to folks my job is to make you snicker on New Yr’s as a result of folks love to listen to you snicker. And I feel God bless you for the work you do all 12 months lengthy. You’re holding ‘em trustworthy proper right here on CNN, and that is your time and all of our time to let unfastened and revel in.”

