Seacrest Scandal Will Be Front and Center Oscar Night
Ryan Seacrest will carry the stench of sexual harassment allegations to the Oscar red carpet this year, said Daniel Holloway, Senior TV Reporter at Variety. And many celebrities will be wary of engaging with him.
“There is the potential for news to break on the carpet on Sunday,” Holloway told Cheddar.
Jennifer Lawrence already told Howard Stern she might not participate in the traditional stop-by with the E! Host. Publicists are reportedly also reluctant to let other celebs speak with him.
Holloway broke news this week, detailing claims of sexual harassment from Seacrest’s former personal stylist Suzie Hardy. She alleges the one-time “American Idol” host slapped her buttocks, grinded against her, and groped her. She says she was fired when she complained about Seacrest’s behavior.
Seacrest has denied the accusations and said Variety didn’t approach him for response before publishing the story.
But Hardy’s story has been corroborated by several witnesses, Holloway said. And Variety “has documentation that we asked to speak with [Seacrest].”
“Live” co-host Kelly Ripa, however, is standing by Seacrest. On Thursday morning, she said on air that it’s “a privilege to work with” him.
Since the story was published on Monday, Seacrest has come under a lot of pressure. At one point, it seemed as though he may have the red carpet pulled out from under him. But NBCUniversal, which televises the Awards’ preview special, decided against it because its own internal investigation did not find any evidence of inappropriate behavior.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ryan-seacrests-accuser-responds-to-his-denial).
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