Bozoma Saint John is speaking out after a moment during the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion left her feeling questioned, and she’s now directly addressing Andy Cohen.
After part two of the reunion aired, Boz took to social media to call out Andy’s reaction when her career as a chief marketing officer came up during the discussion.
“Andy Cohen, come here. I’m calling you to the front of the class. Okay, did you really make this face when we were at The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion and were talking about this?” she said in a video, before showing the clip in question.
In that moment, Andy asked, “It’s not meant to be for a long period of time?” referring to the typical tenure of a CMO role.
Boz responded during the reunion by explaining the reality of the position.
“Usually it is intended to be a long time, but what happens is that a lot of times the blame of any company’s failure or its issues with the stock falls on a CMO,” she said.
Still, she felt the exchange needed more context and addressed it head-on in her video.
“Now I know you couldn’t mean to have a skeptical look, right? Because there have been plenty of white papers and think pieces that have been written about the tenure of the CMO and the high pressure job that it is,” she said, referencing industry data and articles that appeared on screen.
She also reacted to Andy’s follow-up comment on social media, where he wrote, “Because every CMO I’ve worked with was more of a long term thing but what the hell do I know!”
“I’m going to believe that you were simply unaware, but now you’re aware,” Boz said.
From there, she shifted the conversation to her broader career and the assumptions being made.
“I don’t want us to be distracted by this debate about whether or not I can keep a job,” she explained. “Do you really think that billion dollar businesses would keep hiring a CMO who has a failing track record? No. And do you think I’d be placed in not one but two Hall of Fames, if I didn’t do anything? No.”
She also highlighted the lack of representation in executive roles.
“Of the approximately 329 to 346 Fortune 500 companies who have a senior marketing leader in the C-suite, only 1% of those CMO roles are currently held by a Black woman,” she said, noting that only a handful of those positions are held by someone like her.
“So I hope that everyone who is skeptical is now aware of the disparity, the challenge and the incredible amount of fortitude it takes to achieve,” she added.
Boz closed her message on a confident note, quoting Lil Wayne’s lyrics “I’m the best to ever do it,” while encouraging others navigating their own careers.
Andy later responded in the comments, writing, “consider me AWARE.”
The exchange quickly gained attention online, with fans weighing in on both sides of the conversation.
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