I'm glad that the shows bring people joy. I just think there is a way to make shows without ruining people's lives and putting their lives in danger.

Former real housewife of New York, Leah McSweeney, is pulling back the curtain, disclosing what she says really went on behind the scenes of the Bravo reality TV shows she worked on.

I feel bad that she seems like she is going through some shit.

It's your life on display.

Correct.

And And your mess-ups on display.

Yeah. It's a weird workplace, but it's a workplace.

Filing a lawsuit this week filled with stunning allegations against Andy Cohen, Bravo, its producers, production companies, and parent networks. Mcsweeney, who says she's a recovering alcoholic, claiming the defendants established a rotted workplace culture and discriminated against, tormented, demoralized, demeaned, harassed, and retaliated against her for disabilities, including alcohol use disorder and bipolar disorder.

I think it is fascinating that it is part of a larger sweep of lawsuits that are being brought against reality show productions in a lot of different genres.

Ex Jersey housewife, Caroline Manzo show known for her straight talk. You know what you are? You're a clown. Alledging in a lawsuit that Bravo and its production teams plied her cast of Real Housewives' ultimate girls trip with alcohol and encouraged sexual harassment. While former Beverly Hills cast member Brandee Glanville, known for her sometimes outrageous behavior, directly accuses executive and host Andy Cohen of past sexual harassment in a scathing legal letter. Cohen explaining on X that he was very clearly joking to Brandy, but it was totally inappropriate, and I apologize. All this coming on the heels of last year's so-called Reality Reckoning, as many stars came forward from several franchises, arguing that when they When they joined Reality TV, they signed away more than they bargain for. Some of the most jaw-dropping claims in McSweeney's suit are directed at Cohen, alleging he used cocaine with his employees and treated housewives who did it with him with more favorable treatment and edits on their shows. A representative for Cohen blasted back, telling ABC News the claims against Andy are completely false. Several housewives are publicly supporting the Bravo ringmaster, including Kyle Richards, Louanne Dulesseps, and Candy Burris.

I think this is not something that's going to go away without some form of it being addressed.

But late last year, McSweeney painted a darker picture of her time in reality TV in our interview. A fashion designer and New York City party girl of the early 2000s, she joined the Real Housewives of New York in 2019.

I'm having more fun than I've had in a month and a half. The same week that I got the call to audition was the same week that I relapsed after nine years.

When McSweeney joined the cast of Season 12, she said she got paid $3,000 an episode and thought she knew clearly what the downsides might be.

The pros were Maybe I'll be able to help my mom retire.

You were thinking financial success.

Yes, and stability.

She said she told producers about her lapsed sobriety and that they also knew about her mental health struggles.

And so when you told the producers you'd started drinking again, but you downplayed it. Yeah. Why not say this was a full-blown relapse that I was going through?

I think at that point, I was also in a lot of denial about my own relapse, and I was still holding on somewhere in the back of my head that maybe I could drink normally.

You're a little out of control right here.

Nobody's ever been out of control in this group. Are you kidding me? She said some of the moments that made her a fan favorite were actually some of her darkest, including a night dubbed Hurricane Leah. Horrible. It was horrible. I need two shots in that because it's time.

Dorega. Fine. I thought you were covering the alcohol.

I don't remember what I did. I don't know what I said.

What you're describing driving, though, is the definition of blackout drunk.

Oh, I was totally blackout drunk, and I was so nervous to see myself. And what are people going to say? They're going to say you're a drunk and disaster. Instead, they loved it, which was really messed with my brain.

She now says she requested relief from filming because she was having a panic attack but wasn't given accommodations. Bravo disputes this claim. Her lawsuit claims the episode was the highest rated from season 2012, adding to the pressure she says she felt to keep drinking. Where are you going? What was going through your mind?

Not a lot. And look, did I choose to drink that day, yes. Was I an alcoholic in the middle of a relapse? Absolutely.

Give us a sense of how the producers might have had an influence on your behavior.

I'm not going to put that on them for this because I made my own decisions. There is no, this isn't okay. There is, get the cameras in her face more.

But now she does point the finger at producers, claiming they were increasingly pressuring her to consume alcohol beverages. She also says producers knew she was struggling with bipolar disorder. In fact, she'd been outed on the show.

I found out she's bipolar, and she's on medication, and I know people who are bipolar, and you cannot mix alcohol with meds.

Mcsweeni saying that televised moment caused her to suffer extreme anxiety and depression. A spokesperson from NBC Universal telling ABC News they are conducting an investigation into the recent allegations, and a Bravo rep explaining that they've been working with production companies for stricter guidelines on alcohol consumption and safety, as well as increased psychological support, and a requirement to raise concerns up to the parent network, NBC. Abc News also reached out to the producers and production companies named in the lawsuit but did not hear back.

It's a very interesting lawsuit when you have these retaliation claims that are very well vetted in how workplaces work, how much of this was personal choice, and that's something that's going to have to wander through the courts on some of these counts.

Shed Media, the company that produces Housewives, told ABC News late last year that cast members and cast members only make their own decisions about whether to consume alcohol, adding, It's not a requirement to drink, and that production provides non-alcoholic beverages and doesn't single out non-drinkers.

Everyone on the show is an adult, but it becomes a dangerous working environment when people are extremely intoxicated.

Do you think it's up to the producers to cut somebody off while they're drinking?

I do, actually. Yeah, I do. I think that bars cut people off.

There is a cachet to being a housewife. You get money. You also get to be a public figure, and that is a cultural heft that I think is really hard to put a price tag on.

Mcsweeney decided to return for another season, Newly Sober.

Why did you go back to the show?

Well, I think that financially, I was very dependent on it. I was going to actually leave, and then they offered me over three times more per episode. I haven't shrank since March 31st. Yeah.

But season 13, she says, proved to be even more painful.

I told them numerous times that I was struggling. And it was just like as if I was a nuisance and just get it together. Focus on work.

Abc News confirmed that a member of production at one point offered McSweeney some emotional support. Shed Media also told ABC News last year that production provides additional mental health services to cast and crew during or after filming at no cost, adding that they've also enhanced these psychological support protocols. But McSweeni says that the hostile work environment on season 13 ultimately made her check into a psychiatric care facility.

I thought my daughter would be better off if I wasn't here.

That's hard to hear.

Yeah.

It's hard to say out loud.

Yeah, it is. I just think that when someone says I'm struggling, there needs to be a seriousness.

But a few months later, Bravo asked her back again for a one-week trip to Thailand for the housewife's spinoff, for her ultimate girls trip.

After all that you've been through, why go back?

I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. I just was like, nothing could be worse than season 13.

The cash incentive The incentives at that point, she says, proved irresistible, and she accepted the offer.

You were offered $250,000 for one week of filming?

Yes. Mcsweeney claims she feared relapsing, requesting producers and cast not question her regarding her sobriety, but says they later told her that her scenes were boring because sober Leah was not the Leah we know and love. Here comes Leah.

Let's get Leah drunk.

You guys, let's get Leah drunk. A BBC News learned that McSweeney was offered a sober coach by the production team, and at least once, a member of production offered to have her accommodations moved closer to AA meetings. But McSweeney claims when she asked to go to AA meetings, producers refused to provide transportation. Instead directing other cast members to taunt Ms. Mcsweeney about her sobriety and mental health diagnosis. Mcsweeney decided not to return for another season.

When we're dealing with a very large network and a very large personality like Andy Cohen, I I imagine we will see this lawsuit settled before it ever sees a trial.

I think the most important thing is that the production companies and the network and the people who are with the talent day to day need to be much more empathetic and compassionate and see these women more than characters, because I think there's a lack of humanity.

Hi, everyone.

George Stephanopouls here. Thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel. If you'd like to get more videos, show highlights, and watch live event coverage, click on the right over here to subscribe to our channel. And don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts. Thanks for watching.