The five nominees for Best Actress at the 2018 Oscars — Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand, Sally Hawkins and Saoirse Ronan — did not stop to speak with Ryan Seacrest on E!’s red carpet on Sunday, March 4.
Seacrest, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by a former stylist, cohosted E!’s Live From the Red Carpet with Giuliana Rancic from 5 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.
As previously reported, Seacrest, 43, was accused of sexual misconduct by Suzie Hardy in November. He denied the allegations, and following an investigation, E! said that there was “insufficient evidence to substantiate allegations against Seacrest.” Hardy then detailed her claims to Variety in a story published on February 26. The following day, Seacrest denied the accusations for a second time in a lengthy statement.
Before Sunday’s show, the founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, told Variety that she didn’t think Seacrest should be on the carpet. “They really shouldn’t send him [to the Oscars]. We shouldn’t have to make those choices of, ‘Do we or don’t we?’” she told the publication on Saturday, March 3. When asked if she would speak to Seacrest on the carpet, Jennifer Lawrence told Howard Stern on February 28 that didn’t know. (Seacrest did not interview Lawrence on Sunday).
The American Idol host did interview some A-list talent on Sunday’s carpet, including Mary J. Blige, Allison Janney and Taraji P. Henson.
However, some Twitter users thought that the Empire actress was shading Seacrest during her E! appearance. “The universe has a way of taking care of the good people, you know what I mean?” Henson said to Seacrest on the carpet.
Seacrest’s Live! cohost Kelly Ripa also stopped to speak with him on Sunday’s telecast.
“You look amazing,” Ripa, who walked the carpet with her husband Mark Consuelos, told Seacrest on the carpet. “We were watching you upstairs in the hotel. You’re doing a great job.”
