With sexual harassment allegations still hovering over RYAN SEACREST (NET NEWS 2/26), CNN reports, "The line of well-dressed celebrities waiting to chat with E! on the Oscars red carpet might be a little shorter this year. As RYAN SEACREST continues to defend himself against an allegation of sexual harassment, E! has chosen to stand by its longtime host, saying this week that he will occupy his usual post front and center of the action on the red carpet during HOLLYWOOD's biggest night."
YESTERDAY, SEACREST was backed by “Live” co-host KELLY RIPA, who NBC reports, "praised her beleaguered co-host as an 'easy, professional, great person,' and expressed excitement over SEACREST’s upcoming stint manning the red carpet coverage at the OSCARS for E!, an annual tradition for the network. 'I cannot wait to see you there,' she said. 'I am very excited. And I just want you to know, you are a privilege to work with and I adore you. Speaking on behalf of all of us here, I know what a easy, professional, great person you are, and I feel very, very lucky to work with you each and every day'.”
But----here's a different take: "I don't think [SEACREST is] going to have a great time on the carpet," one longtime HOLLYWOOD publicist told CNN.
Word is that a great majority of Hollywood stylists are advising their celebrity clients to avoid Seacrest's invitations for interviews.
Is Seacrest being unfairly judged before being proven guilty? Has this happened to others as a part of the #METOO movement?
HERE'S THE HISTORY (with links) on the woman's allegations and detailed accounts of harrassement.
Weeks after RYAN SEACREST preemptively penned a guest column in the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, declaring that he was wrongly accused of harassment (NET NEWS 2/7), the accuser -- his former personal stylist, SUZIE HARDY -- has now told her story to VARIETY (2/26) were she detailed several instances of harassment.
She also disputed the conclusions made by outside counsel hired by NBCUNIVERSAL which found “insufficient evidence to support the claims against SEACREST” claiming that "the investigator never contacted four witnesses she had referred him to who could corroborate elements of her story."
HARDY landed a job as RYAN SEACREST’s personal stylist for “E! NEWS” in 2006. Soon thereafter, he asserted that "SEACREST subjected HARDY to years of unwanted sexual aggression," including unsolicited touching that included a slap on her derriere that left a welt. She dealt with the harassment "for years out of concern over being able to provide for her daughter" [she was a single mother], and from being told that going to Human Resources would lead to her termination.
In fact, when she finally did report SEACREST’s actions to human-resources executives in 2013, her employment ended according to the report.
Read all the details here.