Ryan Seacrest Criticized By ‘American Idol’ Fans For Being ‘Nasty’ To Singers
Photo: Getty Images David Becker / Stringer
Ryan Seacrest, the TV personality and host of American Idol, is facing criticism from fans following the April 24th episode, in which he allegedly made one contestant into believing she was in the Top 12 when she wasn’t, and informed another participant, “We might lose you tonight.”
Following the episode, the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve host was slammed in a viral Reddit post on the site r/American Idol for being, in one commenter’s words, “such a d-k tonight” and “brutal” to the participants.
Not Such A Rockin’ Eve For Seacrest
Fans were significantly divided on their views of Ryan’s statements and actions during the suspenseful show on the Reddit live discussion thread for April 24th’s Top 12 reveal episode.
After contestant Michael Williams sang a version of Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me,” Ryan told Michael, “You sang ‘Lose You to Love Me’…we might lose you tonight.”
This remark triggered an instant backlash from Redditors, with one saying the comment “was so nasty omg.” One commenter responded, “I laughed so loud my dog barked.”
At another point in the show, Ryan appeared to mislead contestant Oliva Soli into thinking she had been chosen for the Top 12. “F— how Ryan Seacrest told Oliva Soli that she wasn’t in the top 12.
He made her believe she was in, we were ALL confused. This is why you need to just say “You’re in or your [sic] not in” instead of this b—h a– trickery, OK? DAMN,” ranted one Twitter user. A Redditor offered some advice, saying “Ryan, come ON. Be more clear when you’re crushing these people.”
One critic vented their feelings about the host in all caps on the Reddit thread: “RYAN THAT WAS JUST EVIL WTF.”
Fans Comment: ‘That Was Just Evil’; ‘No Better Host’
Fans of American Idol weren’t all bad about the show’s host: one Redditor praised Ryan for “keeping this episode moving at a breakneck pace without it feeling rushed,” adding, “That’s why he deserves his paycheck.”
Others agreed, with one calling Seacrest the “hardest working man in television.” A commenter pushed back, asking if the poster was being sarcastic with this claim as, in their opinion, “this quite possibly is the worst he’s ever been on an AI episode,” but the original poster responded definitively:
“It’s not sarcastic. He’s driving the plane. One syllable is out of step and the whole show falls apart. I’ve never seen anyone do what he can do.”
Fans on Twitter also made sure to praise the longtime American Idol host—a Twitter user tagged Ryan in a Tweet gushing, “You are truly a professional. No better host. We’ve never missed an episode of American Idol and you are one of the reasons.”
Ryan left Live with Kelly and Ryan (now Live with Kelly and Mark) on April 14th, after co-hosting the morning show with Kelly Ripa for 6 years, expressing a desire to relocate to Los Angeles; the show is filmed in New York City.
