Ryan Seacrest is denying the disturbing harassment and sexual abuse allegations made against him by his former E! stylist.
His attorney tells Us Weekly in a statement, “On January 31st the network notified us that their independent third-party investigation had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support her claims, effectively, clearing my client’s name. It’s telling that after my client refused to pay her money, and the E! investigation resulted as it did, that she is now coming forward to share her debunked story to the press.”
Suzie Hardy told Variety about her alleged experience working as Seacrest’s personal stylist for E! News from 2006 to 2013. Hardy makes several claims, including one that the Live With Kelly and Ryan host threw her onto a hotel room bed when she was helping him get ready for the 2009 Academy Awards. Seacrest was allegedly in his underwear at the time and had a visible erection. Hardy’s former E! coworker corroborated the story to the outlet, claiming that Seacrest rubbed his erection on Hardy and wouldn’t stop until the coworker yelled at him.
In 2010, Hardy says Seacrest asked her about her boyfriend at the time, “Have you f—ked him yet?” Hardy allegedly told the American Idol host not to ask her questions like that, and Seacrest tightly grabbed her vagina in response.
Hardy and her coworker also claimed that Seacrest slapped her bottom so hard in 2009 that she ended up with a red welt.
Hardy listed many other alleged inappropriate incidents with the Ryan Seacrest Distinction designer, which include Seacrest shoving her head in his crotch, asking her to nap with him, continually trying to cultivate a romantic relationship with her and hugging her in his underwear more than 10 times.
Seacrest has denied Hardy’s accusations on multiple occasions. The statement from his attorney continues, “It is upsetting to us that Variety is electing to run a ‘story’ about untrue allegations that were made against my client, after they were told that the accuser threatened to make those false claims against him unless he paid her $15 million. At that time, the claimant threatened to issue a demonstrably false press statement unless she was paid. Instead, my client proactively and publicly denied the claims and agreed to fully cooperate with E!’s investigation about the matter.”
The former stylist says that she stayed in the job because she’s a single mom. “I didn’t know how to deal with it,” she told Variety. “I really didn’t. I was battling finally being in a decent financial position to breathe and be a mom, that I didn’t have to be freaking out all the time, and then dealing with this infantile celebrity person who was testing me on every level and manipulating me and knew that I was in a vulnerable position.”
According to Hardy, she never went to Human Resources because she was afraid of losing her job. In 2013, HR asked to meet with her to assess her relationship with Seacrest. She told them about Seacrest’s alleged behavior, and two weeks later, she says she was told her E! News employment was ending.
E! said its investigation found “insufficient evidence to support the claims against Seacrest.” The network released a statement to Us on Monday, February 26, following Variety’s report: “E!’s investigation was extremely comprehensive and thorough. Over the course of a two month process, our outside counsel interviewed more than two dozen people regarding the allegations, including multiple separate meetings with the claimant. The investigator is an attorney with nearly 20 years experience and is highly regarded professionally. Any claims that question the legitimacy of this investigation are completely baseless.”
