Nicole Moschella
The woman who accused Ryan Seacrest of sexual misconduct while working at E! has come forward with details about the alleged abuse she suffered at his hands.
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Suzie Hardy, a former stylist for Seacrest alleged that the “Live with Kelly and Ryan” host was inappropriate with her on several occasions. Seacrest has denied the allegations, and E! recently conducted an investigation that found no evidence to back up Hardy’s claims.
The network confirmed there were no findings in a statement, saying, “The investigation, conducted by outside counsel, found insufficient evidence to support the claims against Seacrest and therefore could not be substantiated.”
Now, Hardy has come forward with what she claims are detailed accounts of the alleged bad behavior in a new interview with Variety.
Hardy claims that she began working for Seacrest in 2007 and that by the end of her first year of employment, Seacrest’s personal assistant told her that the host “had a crush” on her and was “really into” her. She claims during one incident, he was sitting in a director’s chair, wearing only underwear, when he said to her, “I just don’t think you’re attracted to me.”
And she replied, “I’m attracted to my paycheck.”
Hardy further claimed that Seacrest hugged her more than 10 times while only wearing underwear, and on one occasion, he slid his hand onto her crotch. She claims he said, “Oh my god, are you going to sue me?”
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To which she replied, “Not if I stay employed.”
A former coworker of Hardy’s claims he witnessed Seacrest assault Hardy on at least two occasions. The witness claims that Seacrest once slapped Hardy’s buttocks so hard that it produced a welt hours later. The former coworker also stated that Seacrest once threw Hardy on the bed of a hotel room and, wearing only underwear, rubbed his erection on her.
Hardy said that she went to E! with the allegations and informed human resources — which she said she never called, but was rather contacted by — that he was inappropriate with her on several occasions including one occasion where he grabbed her crotch as she was tying his tie. Two weeks after the meeting, Hardy claimed she was told her employment with E! was over one week after the upcoming Oscars. After that, she had no in-person contact with Seacrest but claimed he contacted her two months later and said he wanted to work with her in the future.
Seacrest has maintained his innocence, and he wrote in the Hollywood Reporter that Hardy’s claims were untrue.
“To have my workplace conduct questioned was gut-wrenching,” he wrote. “I’ve always aimed to treat all of my colleagues with honesty, respect, kindness and compassion. Yet, I knew, regardless of the confidence I had that there was no merit to the allegations, my name would likely soon appear on the lists of those suspected of despicable words and deeds.”
