Ryan Seacrest will still host the Oscars red carpet despite sexual abuse allegations

Ryan Seacrest will still host E! News’ red carpet coverage at the Oscars this Sunday, BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday, despite detailed allegations by his ex-stylist that he sexually harassed and assaulted her repeatedly.

Suzie Hardy, who worked as Seacrest’s personal stylist at E! from 2007 to 2013, went public Monday, alleging that Seacrest repeatedly groped her crotch, hugged her while wearing only his underwear on more than 10 occasions, and once slapped her buttock so hard it left a welt that was still visible hours later. A former coworker of Hardy’s also told Variety that he saw Seacrest shove Hardy’s face into his crotch while Hardy was tying Seacrest’s shoes on multiple occasions.

“I didn’t know how to deal with it,” Hardy said. “I really didn’t. I was battling finally being in a decent financial position to breathe and be a mom, that I didn’t have to be freaking out all the time, and then dealing with this infantile celebrity person who was testing me on every level and manipulating me and knew that I was in a vulnerable position.”

Seacrest, who has repeatedly denied Hardy’s allegations, currently serves as the face of several enormous shows. Besides his Oscars gig and regular event coverage for E!, Seacrest is the co-host of the morning show “Live with Kelly & Ryan” — which made no mention of the allegations against him on Tuesday’s episode — and is set to return as the host of the rebooted “American Idol,” which premieres in two weeks.

So far, execs are standing by him. Asked by Variety whether Seacrest would still have a job at the Oscars, an E! spokesperson replied, “Of course he is.”

Even before Hardy’s allegations were made public, the Oscars’ producers said that the ceremony will from stay away from making any political statements in support of sexual assault survivors, or the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

“We certainly want to honor and respect Time’s Up and allow that message to be heard,” ABC President of Entertainment Channing Dungey told the New York Times. (ABC will broadcast the ceremony.) “But we’re trying to make it more planned than spur-of-the-moment — it has its moment and then doesn’t feel like it overshadows the artists and films being honored.”

E! launched an investigation into Hardy’s claims in November, when her lawyer sent Seacrest, E!, and its parent company NBCUniversal a letter detailing Seacrest’s alleged abuse. That investigation was “extremely comprehensive and thorough,” an E! spokesperson said, and found no evidence of misconduct by Seacrest when it concluded in February.

The spokesperson went on, "Over the course of a two month process, our outside counsel interviewed more than two dozen people regarding allegations, including multiple separate meetings with the claimant and all firsthand witnesses that she provided. 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." Seacrest’s lawyer, Andrew Baum, also said that Hardy’s claims were false.

“It is upsetting to us that Variety is electing to run a ‘story’ about untrue allegations that we were made against my client, after they were told that the accuser threatened to make those false claims against him unless he paid her $15 million. At that time, the claimant threatened to issue a demonstrably false press statement unless she was paid,’” Baum said in a statement. He added, “It’s telling that after my client refused to pay her money, and the E! investigation resulted as it did, that she is now coming forward to share her debunked story to the press.”

Hardy’s attorney told Variety that his client never asked for any money, and Seacrest’s representatives declined to provide Variety with any evidence that Hardy had made such a request. Representatives for both parties didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from VICE News.