Andy Cohen isn’t staying quiet after tennis legend Martina Navratilova’s controversial take on surrogacy. The Bravo host, 57, called out the 68-year-old athlete during the Tuesday, August 5 episode of “Andy Cohen Live” on Sirius XM — and didn’t hold back.
Cohen, who is a father to two children — son Benjamin, 6, and daughter Lucy — both born via surrogacy, took major issue with Navratilova’s blunt stance. The former tennis pro had declared that “surrogacy is wrong” in a now-deleted tweet, sparking backlash online and, now, from Cohen himself.
“What Martina tweeted was, ‘Surrogacy is wrong.’ She said, ‘Surrogacy is just wrong. Sometimes you can’t have it all.’ Well, here’s the deal, that’s just ill-informed and dumb,” Cohen said on-air.
He added, “Basically, she’s uninformed on the issue, so I just think she’s not informed. It’s a bad take. What can I tell you? She’s just wrong.”
Navratilova’s tweet, originally shared via X (formerly Twitter) and later deleted, drew attention when it was reposted by a fan account on July 13. Critics were quick to point out the apparent hypocrisy, noting that Navratilova and her wife, Real Housewives of Miami star Julia Lemigova, adopted two boys. Some questioned how she could condemn one non-traditional path to parenthood while embracing another.
“I asked Julia about it on WWHL,” Cohen said during the Sirius XM broadcast, referencing his other show Watch What Happens Live.
He continued, “Julia and I have discussed this offline. Martina will not be at the Miami reunion, so I will not be asking Martina about this.”
Lemigova, 53, appeared on the July 30 episode of WWHL and addressed the controversy. She stood by her wife but made it clear they don’t always agree — especially on this issue.
“Well, you know, Martina and I share a bed, but we don’t share a brain. And we do not always agree on different views, but I believe in surrogacy,” Lemigova said. “And I completely disagree with her comments.”
Cohen has always been vocal about his journey to fatherhood and the gratitude he feels toward the women who helped make it possible. In a 2022 Instagram post, he referred to surrogates as “rockstars.”
He also reflected on the significance of surrogacy in a heartfelt moment with Anderson Cooper on New Year’s Eve in 2018.
“When I was growing up, and when we were growing up … I just never thought it would be possible as a gay man to grow up and have a family,” Cohen said. “And here we are in 2018, almost ‘19, and anything’s possible. And I’m so grateful to a wonderful surrogate that I’m working with.”
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