Ryan Seacrest Hosts Oscars Red Carpet Amid Allegations: See How Stars & Fans Reacted

Ryan Seacrest attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Ryan Seacrest

After allegations of sexual misconduct landed Ryan Seacrest in headlines last week, some were outraged to learn E! planned to move forward with their traditional Oscars 2018 red carpet coverage lead by the TV personality.

In an article for Variety, #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke shared her disappointment over the network’s decision, stating that his presence would make female talent uncomfortable by making them choose whether to speak with him or not. “[E!] really shouldn’t send him [to the Oscars]. We shouldn’t have to make those choices of, ‘Do we or don’t we?'” she reasoned.

The activist went on to speak about the allegations against Seacrest, explaining, “This is not about his guilt or innocence. It’s about there being an accusation that’s alive, and until they sort it out, it’s really on E! News and shouldn’t be on us… It will let us know where they stand in terms of how respectful E! News is of this issue—and of women.”

Clearly E! didn’t take a cue from Burke, but in order to avoid potentially awkward interviews, they did set a 30-second delay for the live broadcast just a few hours before the event. This comes after recent red carpet moments like when Debra Messing called out E! for being hypocritical about Time’s Up or when Alison Brie was asked about brother-in-law James Franco’s sexual indiscretions.

There was plenty of social media discussion about Seacrest’s presence on the red carpet, starting with how he asked attendees about their roles in relation to social movements. Additionally, many were noting the predominance of white men being interviewed by the host.

Things diversified as the evening went on, with some bigger names stopping by to speak with Seacrest, including; Christopher Plummer, Allison Janney, the cast of Get Out, Mary J. Blige, Common and Andra Day, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Eiza Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Richard Jenkins, Andy Serkis, Donald Sutherland, Rita Moreno, Taraji P. Henson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tiffany Haddish.

To see what people are saying about this controversy, scroll through the tweets below.

The Offense

The Defense