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Ryan Seacrest on Mariah Carey NYE Criticism: ‘I Find It Hard to Believe’

Remember when? Ryan Seacrest was asked about Mariah Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance from earlier this year when he dropped by Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Thursday, September 21.

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As previously reported, Carey and her team claimed that she didn’t sing during the set in Times Square because her earpiece didn’t work. During the performance, she stopped because she wasn’t able to hear the music.

Mariah Carey New Year's Eve
Mariah Carey performs during New Year’s Eve 2017 in Times Square on December 31, 2016 in New York City.

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Seacrest, 42, was hosting the big event at the time. “What was going through my head was and is — that crew, that team, that staff is the best in the business. They put on the biggest live music events and they know what they’re doing. And I know how good they are at their jobs,” he told Cohen. “So my reaction was — she was working with the best. I find it hard to believe that they made big mistakes that night.”

“When it was happening, it’s hard for me to see and hear because we’re in Times Square and there’s a lot going on,” he continued. “So I had to be told that something was going on and then try to find a monitor to react to. So I wasn’t quite sure what was happening actually.”

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Ryan Seacrest Mariah Carey Watch What Happens Live WWHL
Ryan Seacrest on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’

Following the incident, Dick Clark Productions denied the allegations from Carey’s team. “In very rare instances there are of course technical errors that can occur with live television; however, an initial investigation has indicated that DCP had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance,” the company told Us Weekly in a statement in January. “We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry.”

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