Andy Cohen, Bravo slammed by human rights groups ahead of 'Real Housewives of Dubai' premiere

Andy Cohen and Bravo continue to face backlash for Real Housewives of Dubai.

Ahead of the show's June 1 premiere and days after the first trailer was released, a group of 12 human rights groups called for the network to publicly oppose the violence against women as well as the homophobic laws perpetrated by the rulers of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

The human rights groups — Freedom Forward, Action Corps, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, CODEPINK, European Centre For Democracy and Human Rights, FairSquare, Health Advocacy International, Human Rights Sentinel, Just Foreign Policy, Last Mile4D, Peace Action and ReThinking Foreign Policy — sent an open letter to Bravo, its parent company NBCUniversal and the production company Truly Original expressing deep concern over the show.

"Dubai is an absolute monarchy that is part of the dictatorship of the United Arab Emirates," it said. "By setting the Real Housewives franchise inside Dubai, you are helping the UAE dictatorship hide its male rulers' misogyny, legalized homophobia and mass violence against women."

The groups demanded the executives to "reveal whether the rulers of Dubai and the UAE funded or financed the Real Housewives of Dubai in any way."

They also asked that a disclaimer run before the episodes saying Bravo and the other businesses "oppose the UAE and Dubai dictatorship's misogyny, homophobia, women's rights violations and war in Yemen." They also want money to be donated to human rights organizations which fight against those human rights violations. Additionally, a request was made that fans of the Real Housewives franchise be educated on the injustices.

Some of the human rights violations are outlined, including Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum kidnapping and detaining his adult daughters, one of whom has been held captive for over 20 years, and intimated and harassed his ex-wife.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, a member of the UAE ruling family, was accused of sexual assault, but the dictatorship has not investigated it.