And just like that, the man who was once our red carpet sweetheart has been accused of sexual harassment.

Sending E! into crisis mode, allegations suggesting Ryan Seacrest subjected a personal stylist to “years of unwanted sexual aggression” have come out, just before the host is set to hit the red carpet at the Oscars this weekend.

Page Six reports that, behind-the-scenes, publicists are even planning to “steer many of their stars away from him”:

[E]ven though Seacrest will appear on the E! pre-awards extravaganza on Sunday, sources tell us that producers will prearrange his interviews on the carpet with friendly stars who won’t surprise him with uncomfortable comments.

Now that will be something to watch.

Seacrest strongly denied the allegations, and E!’s parent NBCUniversal has said that it’s sticking with Seacrest as its red carpet host:

Seacrest insists that an investigation by NBCUniversal into the claims cleared him of any wrongdoing, and that the former employee was shaking him down for money.

I mean, he’s an institution in his own right, but with allegations like these, at a time like this, he’s up against it.

Seacrest’s world came crashing down on Monday when Variety reported that stylist Suzie Hardy had been serially sexually abused by Seacrest over years, accusing him of “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”:

Suzie Hardy was a single mother with a preschool-age daughter when she landed a job as Ryan Seacrest’s personal stylist for “E! News” in 2007. The position provided good pay and a schedule that would allow her to pick up her child from school most workdays.

But according to a November letter from Hardy’s attorney addressed to cable channel E!, its corporate parent NBCUniveral, and Seacrest, the job became an ordeal as Seacrest subjected Hardy to years of unwanted sexual aggression — 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 claimed that she endured the abuse for years out of concern over being able to provide for her daughter, and that the situation only ended in 2013, when, after reporting Seacrest’s actions to human-resources executives, her employment ended.

Variety exclusively obtained a copy of the November letter and spoke on multiple occasions to Hardy and her attorney. In the letter and in exclusive interviews with Variety, Hardy described in detail numerous incidents of harassment and assault allegedly perpetrated by Seacrest over the years she was his stylist.

Honestly, what the hell is it with men and shoving their penis where it doesn’t belong? Gross.

You can bet that plenty of attention will be paid to Seacrest on the red carpet. Now we wait.

[source:pagesix&variety]