How else were they going to close out the year of the nepo baby? During CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve Live broadcast last night, Andy Cohen couldn’t stop referencing the fact that Anderson Cooper is related to the once incredibly wealthy Vanderbilt family. “Look at this little nepo baby — he’s so sweet,†Cohen said in a baby voice as he hugged his co-host. “I’m not a nepo baby! I’m not a nepo baby!†Cooper insisted, jumping up and down with his hands in fists. The CNN anchor previously assured Howard Stern in 2014 that he’d never received a trust fund, adding at the time that he didn’t “believe in inheriting money.†During the countdown to 2023, Cooper also made sure to reiterate to Cohen that his family fortune was lost “looong ago.â€
Cohen and Cooper didn’t drink during CNN’s show this year, though Brian Cox did turn up after midnight to offer them a bottle of Champagne. The network’s new rules about booze came a year after Cohen drunkenly referred to guests on ABC’s broadcast as Ryan Seacrest’s “group of losers.†In the hours leading up to midnight, the hosts instead took “mystery shots†of substances such as pickle juice, buttermilk, and apple-cider vinegar. Meanwhile, CNN correspondents were also doing their best to prove that being sober didn’t have to mean a sobering broadcast — Don Lemon, for example, completely missed the start of 2023 because he was so busy backing that azz up.