Stars Plan To Avoid Ryan Seacrest At The 2018 Academy Awards
The Oscars are the entertainment industry's most prominent awards show. On March 4, several influential celebrities are expected to walk the Red Carpet again for the event at the Dolby Theatre.
No Talking To Seacrest!
This year, E! News veteran red carpet correspondent Ryan Seacrest is not likely to get any interviews. According to Page Six, several significant powerhouse public relations personnel are forbidding their superstar clients not to talk to Seacrest and E! News. However, if the stars still want to talk to E! News on the Red Carpet, they would speak with Seacrest's co-host and longtime partner in crime, Giuliana Rancic.
"Usually Ryan is the one you want...but there are so many outlets on that carpet, why risk it? There's plenty of other places for clients to get the exposure," said an insider to Page Six.
Hardy vs. Seacrest
The prime reason top publicists do not want to deal with Seacrest is the ongoing sexual misconduct allegations he is facing. Suzie Hardy, who worked for the Live With Kelly And Ryan host as a stylist from 2007 to 2013, has not backed down her recent claims that Seacrest demeaned her throughout the time she spent working with him. Hardy revealed to Variety on Tuesday, Feb. 27, that Seacrest was vilifying her and making her story obsolete by feeding the public with lies.
"I remained quiet for years out of fears that my story wouldn't be believed and that I would be subject to scorn and ridicule for telling it. I was emboldened by the bravery of others to finally and confidentially tell my story to NBC (E!'s longtime parent company). Ryan elected to take the story public with a false narrative that he was exonerated and the victim of some sort of money grab. He is not the victim, and I refuse to let him victimize me for telling the truth," said Hardy to Variety.
The former stylist stated that the American Idol host performed inhumane acts on her throughout her years of working with him. The alleged actions range from inappropriate touching of her genitals to rubbing his erected penis on Hardy. The former stylist brought these complaints to Human Resources in 2013, and two weeks later, the company removed her from the position.
Seacrest has denied all of these allegations. E! also conducted its own investigation and found that the Keeping Up with the Kardashians producer was not guilty due to insufficient evidence.
Fallen Media Stars
While Seacrest still has the backing of both ABC and E!, several of his colleagues who faced the same accusations have lost their careers. Actor Jeffrey Tambor was terminated from Amazon Studios' Transparent following an internal investigation regarding alleged sexual misconduct allegations.
In 2017, ABC severed its ties with celebrity chef Mario Batali after multiple sexual misconduct allegations surrounded him. In that same year, NBC News fired longtime Today anchor Matt Lauer following a sexual misconduct claim.
