SCANDAL

Ryan Seacrest Claims Accuser Offered Silence in Exchange for 'Millions of Dollars'

Seacrest said in a statement that his accuser offered to withdraw her sexual misconduct claims for millions of dollars, but he refused.

Ryan Seacrest on Tuesday responded to sexual harassment allegations made against him in a recent Variety article, saying his accuser “offered, on multiple occasions, to withdraw her claims if I paid her millions of dollars.” Seacrest said he “refused” stylist Suzie Hardy's offers and again denied the claims made against him—pointing to a third-party investigation that found him clear of any wrongdoing. The Variety report, published Monday, alleged that Seacrest groped Hardy and inappropriately touched her on multiple occasions between 2007 and 2013, when she reportedly filed a complaint with HR and was subsequently fired. Seacrest addressed these same allegations in November, after Hardy sent a letter to NBCUniversal via a lawyer, asking the company to “come up with a plan to address the treatment of all women at the networks and to take responsibility for the wrongful treatment.”