Ryan Seacrest has broken his silence about the misconduct allegations made against him by a former E! stylist.
“Much has been said about the #MeToo and Times Up movement(s) and the importance of providing women and men with the opportunity to share their stories of workplace misconduct, in an effort to change our culture and the systemic inequalities that exist. I absolutely support this cause unequivocally and applaud all the brave souls who have come forward to share their stories,” Seacrest, 42, began in a lengthy statement on Tuesday, February 27.
“Sadly, last fall I became one of the accused, which I promptly revealed proactively to the network involved and to the public. And to be equally clear, those accusations were then investigated by an independent third-party over the course of a two-month process and involved dozens of interviews that included me, the accused and countless others. Ultimately, my name was cleared,” his statement read. “I eagerly participated in the investigation in order to demonstrate my innocence because I know my truth, and I believe in due process.”
As previously reported, Seacrest was first accused of sexual misconduct by the former stylist back in November. He denied the allegations and E! completed an investigation about the claims and said in statement there was no “insufficient evidence to substantiate allegations against Seacrest.” Suzie Hardy, the stylist who previously accused Seacrest, went public on Monday, February 26, and detailed her alleged claims to Variety. Hardy claimed the Live! host shoved her head in his crotch, asked her to nap with him, tried to cultivate a romantic relationship with her and hugged her in his underwear more than 10 times. She also claimed that two weeks after she told Human Resources about Seacrest’s alleged behavior, she was let go from the network.
“Yesterday, Variety published a salacious story that revealed the specific claims against me for the first time – even though an independent third-party investigator found insufficient evidence to support the claims,” Seacrest continued. “Much to my dismay, Variety didn’t speak with me or bother to speak with other credible witnesses or even ask for any of the evidence that was obtained during the investigation when offered, all of which clearly challenged the veracity of the claims made against me.”
The American Idol host alleged that his accuser has sought out compensation to keep quiet about the claims: “This person who has accused me of horrible things offered, on multiple occasions, to withdraw her claims if I paid her millions of dollars. I refused. I have worked extremely hard to achieve my success and I don’t take my opportunities for granted. I don’t want to accuse anyone of not telling the truth but in this case, I have no choice but to again deny the claims against me, remind people that I was recused of any wrongdoing, and put the matter to rest.”
Seacrest previously denied the accusations made against him via a statement from his attorney on Monday. E! released a statement to Us on Monday 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.”
