Andy Cohen apologises for spreading Kate Middleton conspiracy theories

‘Watch What Happens Live’ host had joined the frenzy of Kate rumours and conspiracy theories during her absence from public life

Bravo host Andy Cohen is the latest star to apologise for joking about Kate Middleton’s whereabouts following the revelation of her cancer diagnosis.

In a video released on 22 March, the Princess of Wales revealed that she had been undergoing chemotherapy in the wake of major abdominal surgery in January. Following the operation, cancer cells were found in subsequent tests.

At the time, Kate’s condition was not disclosed to the public, and the release of a photoshopped image of the princess and her children exacerbated the spread of conspiracy theories speculating on the reason behind her low profile.

“I just want to say, I am heartbroken by the news about Princess Kate,” Cohen, 55, said on Monday’s broadcast of his SiriusXM radio show, Andy Cohen Live.

“I think someone on Sky News called me a numpty, and they were right. I wish I had kept my mouth shut.”

“We are all praying for Princess Kate and King Charles,” he added, referring to the monarch’s cancer diagnosis, which was revealed in early February.

The Watch What Happens Live host clarified that he hadn’t apologised sooner because his show had been on hiatus and this was his “first opportunity back in front of a live microphone”.

When footage surfaced of Middleton appearing to visit a farm shop in March, Cohen had further flamed conspiracy theories by tweeting: “That ain’t Kate…”

Andy Cohen and Kate Middleton (Getty Images)

Actor Blake Lively was one of the first to apologise for partaking in the frenzy, referring to a now-deleted post that seemingly poked fun at Kate posting an edited picture of her family for Mother’s Day.

Posting on an Instagram Story on Friday (22 March), the Gossip Girl star wrote: “I’m sure no one cares today but I feel I have to acknowledge this.

“I made a silly post around the ‘photoshop fails’ frenzy and, oh, man, that post has me mortified today. I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, fans have been calling on reality TV star Kim Kardashian to apologise for joining in the speculation about why Kate had been absent from public life.

On 17 March_, the reality star posted a photo of herself posing in front of a luxury car, and captioned the post: “On my way to go find Kate.”

The 42-year-old princess said in her announcement video that she needed to recover from surgery before she could start “preventative chemotherapy”, as advised by her medical team.

“This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” she added.

Kate explained she had needed time to come to terms with the news and tell her children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, before informing the wider world.

She said: “It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful.

“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous.

“The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”