Ryan Seacrest Has Been Accused Of Sexual Misconduct By His Former Stylist
But he'll still be hosting the Oscar's red carpet coverage for E!.
Reality TV superstar Ryan Seacrest has denied allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him by a former employee.
The allegations, which were first published by Variety this week, were made by Suze Hardy who was employed by Seacrest’s network, E!, as his personal stylist.
Hardy claims that she was subjected to “years of unwanted sexual aggression”, including Seacrest “grinding his erect penis against her while clad only in his underwear, groping her vagina, and at one point slapping her buttock so hard that it left a large welt still visible hours later”.
Hardy worked for Seacrest between 2007 and 2013 and alleged the abuse occurred throughout that period.
“As proud as I am and as strong as a woman as I am, as smart as I am and as much work as I’ve done with therapists, it really affected me,” Hardy told Variety.
According to Hardy, the misconduct only ended in 2013 when she reported it to human resources. After making the complaint, her employment at E! ended. In November last year she wrote a letter to E! and Seacrest, detailing her experiences. After an internal investigation E! dismissed her complaints, prompting her to go public.
Seacrest has denied the allegations. In a statement he said: “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 has had a lucrative and highly successful career in the entertainment industry including an internationally syndicated radio show and hosting gigs on American Idol. He’s also produced some of the most popular reality shows in the world, including Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Seacrest is also due to host E!’s red carpet coverage of next week’s Oscars. E! confirmed today that Seacrest would continue with his hosting duties, despite the allegations.
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Feature image via Duncan Rawlinson / Flickr