LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — A former stylist who accused Ryan Seacrest of sexual misconduct, has filed a police report against the television host.
Suzie Hardy, who was a stylist with E!, wrote op-ed published https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ryan-seacrest-accuser-i-won-t-be-silenced-ive-filed-a-police-report-guest-column-1098245 in the Hollywood Reporter in which she claimed she had taken her allegations of sexual abuse to the Los Angeles Police.
“I’m not going away. I’m thriving in the truth and feel more inspired than ever. I recently contacted the LAPD and filed a police report so I’m guaranteed a real investigation this time,” Hardy wrote in the op-ed.
The LAPD confirmed the complaint to ABC News but declined further comment on the matter.
The allegations against Seacrest first surfaced in November when THR published about anonymous allegations of inappropriate against him. At the time, the details of the allegations were not published, but the story prompted Seacrest to issue a public statement apologizing for making his accuser “feel anything but respected” but denying any inappropriate behavior.
“I treat all my colleagues with kindness, dignity, and understanding, as this is a principle that’s core to who I am. Throughout my 25 years in the entertainment industry, the majority of my co-workers have been women, and I’ve endeavored to foster a positive work environment of mutual respect and courtesy, as that’s how I believe it should b. I’m distraught that anyone or any situation would call that into question. I’m proud of my workplace reputation, and believe my track record will speak for itself. I’m an advocate for women. I will continue to support their voices,” Seacrest said in his November statement to THR.
Later that month, E! announced it had launched an internal investigation of the incident. In February, E! released a statement that the investigation, which conducted by an outside counsel hired by NBC/Universal, said it had found insufficient evidence substantiate the allegations against Seacrest.
Following E!’s statement, Seacrest spoke to THR, expressing his support for the growing #MeToo movement, but suggesting he’d been falsely accused.
Later that month, Hardy went public in Variety with her own account, detailing her alleged experiences with Seacrest, including claims of years of unwanted sexual behavior, including groping her, slapping her, and grinding himself against her while he was wearing just underwear.
“I didn’t know how to deal with it,” Hardy told Variety. “I really didn’t. I was battling finally being in a decent financial position to breathe and be a mom, that I didn’t have to be freaking out all the time, and then dealing with this infantile celebrity person who was testing me on every level and manipulating me and knew that I was in a vulnerable position.”
After the Variety story, an E! spokesperson told InStyle that the organization’s investigation “extremely comprehensive and thorough” and reiterated the claim that it found the accusations against Seacrest to be baseless.
Seacrest’s attorney Andrew Baum went further, telling Variety that the publication had run a story about “untrue allegations” and alleging that Hardy had only made the claims after attempting to extort $15 million from Seacrest.
“At that time, the claimant threatened to issue a demonstrably false press statement unless she was paid. Instead, my client proactively and publicly denied the claims and agreed to fully cooperate with E!’s investigation about the matter,” Baum told Variety.
Despite the cloud of accusations around Seacrest, he still served as the red carpet host of the 2018 Oscars, which appeared to be one of the factors that prompted Ms. Hardy’s op-ed.
In a statement to THR, Seacrest’s attorney wrote:
“After Mr. Seacrest denied each and every one of Ms. Hardy’s decade-old claims, after Mr. Seacrest refused to pay Ms. Hardy any money whatsoever, and after an independent legal investigation did not support her claims, Ms. Hardy went to the press attacking the legitimacy of the investigation. Now, after being refused money and unhappy with the independent legal investigation, Ms. Hardy now claims to have spoken to the authorities. We will continue to cooperate and we remain confident that Mr. Seacrest will once again be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
