Did a top NBCUniversal executive orchestrate an alleged smear campaign against former “Real Housewives of New York” Leah McSweeney?

That’s what McSweeney’s attorneys are claiming in a new filing in her lawsuit against television personality Andy Cohen and Bravo.

Buried in a May 26 memorandum, NBCUniversal executive VP Jennifer Geisser is fingered as a hidden hand behind an alleged effort to disparage McSweeney, whose case appears to be heading to trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York.

It marks the first time Geisser — who was promoted to lead communications for unscripted across NBC, Peacock and Bravo in 2020 — has been mentioned in the lawsuit, which was filed in February 2024 and has primarily centered on the behavior of the “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” host. (McSweeney claims that “Real Housewives” producers exploited her substance abuse issues and pressured her to drink alcohol because it would make for spicier TV.)

The new court filing claims that McSweeney “has obtained additional information concerning the alleged coordination of the public statements by Bravo-affiliated personalities … and related public-relations efforts involving Defendant Cohen’s publicist, Jennifer Geisser.” That would appear to reference some two dozen Housewives — including Kyle Richards, Heather Dubrow, Dorinda Medley, Melissa Gorga and Wendy Osefo — who hit the interview circuit in late February and early March 2024 and cast doubt on McSweeney’s claims just days after she filed her original suit.

Geisser declined comment.

McSweeney’s attorney Gary Adelman tells Page Six Hollywood in a statement: “We believe we have addressed the Court’s previous concerns and look forward to moving into discovery and ultimately questioning the defendants under oath — including Mr. Cohen, who will no longer be able to hide behind his Housewives.”

McSweeney’s Tuesday night filing characterized the alleged smear campaign as ongoing. “Defendants’ alleged retaliatory media campaign and Plaintiff’s resulting professional harm have continued to emerge even after filing of the SAC,” the memorandum says in reference to McSweeney’s second amended complaint, which was filed in July 2025.

The implication of the filing is that every one of the Housewives who spoke to the press and gave comments about McSweeney could potentially be open to discovery and depositions, a plot twist worthy of the most outrageous “Real Housewives” showdowns. 

McSweeney did clear a major hurdle in March, when Judge Lewis Liman ruled that her lawsuit will proceed in open court. (Lawyers for Cohen and Bravo had tried to move the case to private arbitration.)

Ironically, Judge Liman was the presiding judge in the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni case, which was settled this month. That case centered on allegations that Baldoni’s publicists ran an untraceable smear campaign against Lively, which the publicists denied. Liman indicated that he had little appetite for that case to play out in his courtroom, and urged the parties to settle, we reported. Judge Liman appears to be more amenable to McSweeney having her day in court.

In the paragraph in Tuesday’s filing that includes the Geisser mention, McSweeney’s lawyers claim that their client, “has already substantially expanded the factual allegations in response to the Court’s prior [motion to dismiss] Order, including detailed allegations concerning Defendants’ coordinated retaliatory conduct, media dissemination efforts, industry blacklisting, and resulting professional harm.”

No trial date has been set for the case.