Madonna's daughter Mercy lands job on Watch What Happens Live
Madonna's 20-year-old daughter Mercy James has been working on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live alongside host Andy Cohen, a longtime playful rival of her mom. Friend Rosie O'Donnell revealed the behind-the-scenes job after spotting Mercy during a June guest appearance on the late-night talk show.
Key Takeaways
- Mercy James, 20, works behind the scenes on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with host Andy Cohen.
- Rosie O'Donnell revealed the role in a July 22 People interview after her June 18 guest appearance.
- O'Donnell said Mercy has worked on the show for about a year and called her proud of the move.
- Madonna and Cohen share a playful rivalry; she once dubbed him a "little troublemaking queen."
- Madonna has never appeared as a guest on the show, which has aired since 2009.
What job did Madonna's daughter Mercy land?
According to reporting from Yahoo Entertainment and Page Six, Mercy James is working behind the scenes on Watch What Happens Live, Bravo's late-night talk show hosted by Andy Cohen. The 20-year-old is one of Madonna's six children and was adopted from Malawi in 2009.
A source told the Daily Mail they saw Mercy at the show's New York City studio a few weeks ago, describing her as "lovely" and "the sweetest most adorable girl." That sighting lined up with O'Donnell's on-air discovery of the same surprise career move.
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How was Mercy's secret Bravo role revealed?
Comedian Rosie O'Donnell first disclosed the job while discussing her friendship with Madonna in a July 22 interview with People. She said she and Madonna text often, then recalled seeing Mercy on set.
"We text each other often, and I just saw her daughter on 'Watch What Happens Live,'" O'Donnell shared. "Her daughter, Mercy, works there."
O'Donnell, who appeared on the show on June 18, said Cohen pointed Mercy out. She initially thought she was meeting a regular staffer. "And I was like, 'Hi, what's your name?' And she goes, 'Rosie, it's Mercy!' And I was like, 'Oh my God, what are you doing here?'"
O'Donnell added that Mercy has "worked there for like a year or so," and that she was "very happy for her and proud of her."
Why does Andy Cohen count as one of Madonna's enemies?
The "enemy" framing is tongue-in-cheek. Yahoo Entertainment reports Madonna and Cohen have a playful beef tied to her long refusal to guest on his show, despite his public dream of booking her.
During a July 2023 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Cohen said Madonna still had not done Watch What Happens Live. He recalled reaching out about seeing her perform and getting a snappy reply: she told him to "Stop having people trash me on your show."
Later in 2023, while Cohen sat in the audience at Madonna's Celebration Tour stop at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, she called him out from the stage. "If you say one more bad thing about me on your show, you're gonna get in so much trouble," she joked, before labeling him a "little troublemaking queen."
Cohen later celebrated the dig, calling it an honor from a lifelong fandom perspective. Page Six has also noted Madonna has never appeared on the program, which has been on air since 2009. Meanwhile, Mercy is building her own path in entertainment—on the same stage her mom has pointedly avoided.
Where does Mercy fit among Madonna's kids?
Mercy is the fourth of Madonna's six children. Her siblings include Lourdes Leon, 29; Rocco Ritchie, 25; David Banda, 20; and twins Estere and Stella Ciccone, 13. As her brothers and sisters explore creative careers, Mercy's quiet Bravo post puts her squarely inside a major late-night franchise—and next to one of pop's most public "frenemies."