John Mayer Defends Friendship With Andy Cohen, Slams Romance Rumors

John Mayer has had enough. The 46-year-old musician is firing back after Andy Cohen was once again asked to address the pair's long-running friendship in a new interview. 

In a cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, it was Cohen who brought up Mayer's name first during the Q&A. 

"When he inducted me into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, John Mayer said that I unwittingly have become a gay best friend to people who never had a gay best friend," Cohen offered. "That really moved me." 

The statement led THR's co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan, who was conducting the interview, to follow up with a question about the "intense speculation" surrounding their friendship. 

"People seem dubious that a straight rock star can have a close platonic relationship with a gay TV personality," Roshan suggested. 

Cohen was quick to brush it off, replying, "Let them speculate! I honestly love John Mayer, and he loves me. But because we’re so affectionate toward each other, people don’t know what box to put that in. They assume we’re sleeping with each other, which we are most definitely not." 

In a follow-up post on Thursday, the outlet published an impassioned e-mail response that Roshan later received from the musician himself after reading the article. 

Mayer began his letter by sharing that he was "intrigued" by the "line of questioning regarding our friendship."

"I think this is somewhat of a specious premise," he wrote. "First, there is a long and storied history of 'rock stars' (not mocking, just won’t refer to myself as one) befriending gay icons and artists."

He continued, "Second, I think that to suggest that people are dubious of a friendship like mine and Andy’s is to undermine the public’s ability to accept and understand diversity in all facets of culture, be it in art or in real life. I’d like to think they’re sophisticated enough to see a relationship like ours without assuming it must include a sexual component. That turns the concept of being gay into an ignorantly two-dimensional one, which I know you know it’s not. I don’t question that at all."

Mayer and Cohen have been friends for more than a decade, bonded by their shared love of The Grateful Dead. Cohen appeared to unintentionally stir the pot in an interview with Howard Stern last year, when he "flippantly and offhandedly" said that the two "love each other." His comments quickly went viral. 

"I love intelligent discourse — as I hope you’ll find this email to be — but I bristle at your selectively flimsy logic meant to coax an answer, when the premise itself is so deeply flawed, and quite possibly not even quantitatively true," Mayer wrote to THR.

"Quite simply, if someone is dubious of a platonic relationship between a straight man and a gay man, I don’t think that shallow a view deserves clarification by anyone with self respect, be it Andy or your publication," he concluded. "Reinforcing the idea that any gay/straight relationship needs qualification that it’s not sexual devoids everyone involved of their dignity."

The note was signed, "Respectfully, John Mayer." 

For his part, Cohen has been open about his friendship with the Gravity singer -- dishing to ET in February 2022 about the start of their "bromance."

"Gosh, we met over 10 years ago through our friend, Ricky," Cohen said. "I ran into them shopping, I don't know much about John Mayer at all, or his music and I wasn't even so sure it was him when we met. And then we went out to Bleaker Street and there were paparazzi, and I turned to Ricky and I go, 'Is this John Mayer that we're with?' And he said, 'Yes.'"

He continued, "We just started there and would see each other around. He always had a great spirit. I would say the Grateful Dead got us a lot closer, 'cause I was already a major deadhead, and he started getting into them and then imagine when your friend starts playing with your favorite band who you thought you would never see again. And now, you can actually tour with them. So, that was a big kickstart to everything too."

Cohen's even gotten Mayer into the Bravo-verse with the singer name-dropping a few Real Housewives stars during Cohen's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

"Listen," Cohen added. "If John Mayer's calling you out, I think it's pretty fun."

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