Ryan Seacrest & E! are in ‘crisis meetings’ about the Oscar Red Carpet show
March 2, 2018
Ryan Seacrest is doing damage control ahead of his hosting duties for E!’s Oscars Red Carpet special on Sunday. Earlier this week, his accuser went public with her claims by granting an interview to Variety. I already believed her, but now a witness has come forward to say that yes, Seacrest really did harass and abuse Suzie Hardy. Of course, Seacrest is trying to balance those stories with friendly outlets, like People Magazine, which ran a story about how his “colleagues” are defending him.
All in all, there’s likely to be some kind of showdown on the red carpet involving Ryan Seacrest. A real entertainment journalist would willing step aside and say “tonight is not about me,” but Ryan Seacrest has never been an entertainment journalist. So he’s not back down, and he’s apparently insisting on hosting the show like always, even though many women will probably avoid him like the plague. So now he and E! will be getting celebrities to pre-confirm their interviews:
Crisis meetings were going on at NBCUniversal on Wednesday over Ryan Seacrest and his ability to seamlessly cover the Oscars red carpet for its E! network following fresh allegations of sexual harassment. Page Six reported Tuesday that Hollywood publicists are saying behind the scenes that they will steer many of their stars away from Seacrest at Sunday’s awards, after Variety reported that he subjected a personal stylist to “years of unwanted sexual aggression.”
But even though Seacrest will appear on the E! pre-awards extravaganza Sunday, sources tell us that producers will prearrange his interviews on the carpet with friendly stars who won’t surprise him with uncomfortable comments.
A source said, “There will be no Debra Messing moments this time round,” referring to a Golden Globes red-carpet incident in which Messing insulted E! for its handling of ex-host Catt Sadler’s departure over an equal-pay dispute.
My guess remains the same: he’ll mostly interview men, which is what he usually does anyway. That was his f–ked up solution to the Time’s Up blackout at the Golden Globes too – instead of interviewing women, Seacrest would just devote too much time talking to the celebrity men. As for “There will be no Debra Messing moments this time round” – Messing was one of several women who called out E! News for the Catt Sadler debacle while they were on the carpet. I guess poor widdle baby Ryan Seacrest wouldn’t be able to hide his contempt for women if someone like Messing got in his face about the (now confirmed) allegations that he’s another garbage dude in media. And once again, why is this all being dealt with AT THE OSCARS? Ryan just can’t stand the idea that someone else might be able to do his job a lot better, and with a lot less controversy.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
