E! Seacrest Investigation Ends In Insufficient Evidence After Groping Scandal
May 4 2018, Updated 4:04 p.m. ET
Ryan Seacrest’s former personal stylist says the E! News host subjected her to years of unwanted sexual aggression, but an independent investigation found there was “insufficient evidence” to support her claims.
Now, the stylist is stepping out of the shadows, revealing herself to further challenge Seacrest.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, Seacrest came under fire last year, when the then-unnamed stylist first made accusations that the tv talker behaved “inappropriately toward her” around a decade ago.
In an explosive letter to E! obtained by Variety, stylist Suzie Hardy detailed the alleged unwanted sexual aggression, claiming that Seacrest enjoyed “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.”
The Nov. 10 letter from Hardy’s attorney asked Seacrest and E! to “come up with a plan to address the treatment of all women at the networks and to take responsibility for the wrongful treatment” of Hardy.
It also threatened “more formal action” if the request were ignored.
But instead of backing down, Seacrest went public with the allegation, and announced in a statement that E! was investigating a misconduct complaint against him.
At the time, he called the claims “reckless allegations.”
According to the letter from Hardy’s attorneys, the single-mother became Seacrest’s personal stylist on E! News in 2007.
By the end of her first year, Hardy claims that Seacrest’s assistant claimed the host had desire for her, saying he “is really into you” and “has a crush on you.”
As time went by, Seacrest’s alleged behavior became more physical and aggressive toward her, she claims according to the letter. Hardy claims during a dressing room visit in 2007, Seacrest, while wearing only underwear, wrapped her in what the letter described as “a bear hug,” and did not let go until his assistant walked in.
In 2008, while walking to the set of “E! News,” Seacrest allegedly cupped Hardy’s crotch, she claimed in the letter.
And in 2009, Hardy claimed in her letter that while helping him dress for the Academy Awards, a visibly aroused Seacrest, clad only in his underwear, grabbed her, threw her onto the hotel-room bed, and climbed on top of her, rubbing his erection against her — stopping only when Hardy’s co-worker began yelling at him.
Hardy claimed she was asked in 2013 to meet with human-resources executives about the nature of her relationship with Seacrest, and she held nothing back.
Hardy claimed to Variety that she explained to the executives that Seacrest had grabbed her vagina on set, and described other alleged abuse to them. “I was in there for hours. I told them everything.”
Two weeks later, Hardy claimed, she was told that her employment at “E! News” would be coming to an end. She had no further in-person contact with Seacrest.
After Hardy’s letter became public last November, NBCUniversal hired an outside counsel to lead an internal investigation. Earlier this year, E! issued a statement saying that its investigation had concluded and found “insufficient evidence to support the claims against Seacrest.”
”On January 31st, the network notified us that their independent third-party investigation had concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support her claims, effectively, clearing my client’s name,” Seacrest’s attorney, Andrew Baum, told Variety. “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.”
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