Standing by her man. Ryan Seacrest’s girlfriend, Shayna Taylor, showed her support for the American Idol host on Wednesday, February 28, after he was accused of sexual misconduct by former stylist Suzie Hardy.
“I love you so much Ryan. You are the most respectful, well mannered, civil, gracious, loving, kind human being,” the model, 25, captioned an Instagram photo of herself kissing Seacrest, 43, in front of a sunset. “I have known you for 6 years and every day you impress me with your kindness. Not only to me or your friends and family, but most importantly in your work environment. You have worked SO hard to be where you are and you deserve it. #iloveyou #foreversupportyou #teamryan #teamseacrest.”
Seacrest was first accused of sexual misconduct by an anonymous former wardrobe stylist in November. He denied the allegations as E! launched an investigation. The network later said in a statement that it found “no sufficient evidence to substantiate” the claims.
But then Hardy went public and detailed her previous claims to Variety in an article published on Monday, February 26. She claimed the Live With Kelly and Ryan cohost once shoved her head near his crotch and repeatedly hugged her in his underwear, among other alleged incidents. Hardy also claimed she was let go from E! after going to its human resources office, but a source tells Us Weekly that she was not fired.
E! responded in a statement to Us on Monday, saying the network’s “outside counsel interviewed more than two dozen people regarding the allegations. … Any claims that question the legitimacy of this investigation are completely baseless.”
Seacrest also spoke out and once again vehemently denied any wrongdoing. “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,” he said in a statement to Us on Tuesday, February 27. “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.”
He added, “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.”
