Despite shocking allegations that Ryan Seacrest subjected his personal stylist to “years of unwanted sexual aggression,” E! network execs say that Seacrest will host their Oscars red-carpet coverage on Sunday. Seacrest has denied the claims, alleging that instead he is being shaken down for cash. He also citied an investigation by E! parent company NBCUniversal that cleared him of wrongdoing. But that isn’t stopping publicist from deciding to steer their stars away from Seacrest on the Oscar red carpet. There are a lot of emotions and politics surrounding abuse in Hollywood, and the allegations made against Seacrest are serious. Publicists told Page Six that they decided to direct their stars towards Seacrest’s co-host, Giuliana Rancic, or skip E! altogether. “Usually Ryan is the one you want . . . but there are so many outlets on that carpet, why risk it? There’s plenty of other places for clients to get the exposure,” one source told Page Six. Another source told Page Six, it would depend on the client, but “if it was a [client who had been involved in the #MeToo movement], I would never put them in that position. I don’t think any smart person would.” The allegations against Seacrest came out on Monday. His former personal stylist, Suzie Hardy, alleges that the star abused her in multiple ways, including “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.”
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