Suzie Hardy, who used to work as Seacrest's personal stylist for 'E! News', claims that the TV personality once ground 'his erect penis against her while clad only in his underwear.'
- Feb 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Ryan Seacrest's accuser has now detailed years of the alleged sexual harassment the TV personality did towards her. Suzie Hardie, who used to work as Seacrest's personal stylist for "E! News", revealed that the "American Idol" host has made her a subject of unwanted sexual aggression.
In a November letter which Variety obtained, Hardy's attorney, Howard King of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, stated that Seacrest once ground "his erect penis against her while clad only in his underwear." In addition, it was said that Seacrest was "groping her vagina, and at one point slapping her buttock so hard that it left a large welt still visible hours later."
Hardy, who was a single mother with a preschool-age daughter when she landed the job in 2007, added that she had to endure the abuse for the sake of her daughter. After working for a year, Seacrest's personal assistant allegedly told Hardy that the host "is really into you" and "has a crush on you."
Hardy claimed that Seacrest hugged her while wearing only underwear more than 10 times. She also said that at one point, Seacrest was sitting in a director's chair in the dressing room, only in his underwear, and said to her, "I just don't think you're attracted to me." She replied, "I'm attracted to my paycheck."
The letter also stated that Seacrest slid his hand under her crotch area while walking to set in 2008. The host allegedly told her, "Oh my god, are you going to sue me?" to which Hardy responded, "Not if I stay employed."
One month later at his Roosevelt Hotel suite for the Oscars, underwear-clad Seacrest was seen having an erection. Hardy claimed that he later threw her onto the bed while he climbed on top of her and began rubbing his erection on her.
She went on claiming that the sexual abuse ended in 2013 after she told human-resources executives about the situation. However, she was later fired from the network.
Seacrest previously denied the allegations, dubbing the claims "reckless allegations." E! announced that it would investigate the misconduct claims only to conclude it three months later due to "insufficient evidence."
"Total exasperation was my definite feeling when I heard about it," Hardy, who was interviewed three times by the independent investigator, told the site. "I felt like by the third interview, it was obvious the investigator was whitewashing it for Seacrest's side." She added that the investigator never contacted four witnesses she had referred him.
E!, however, claimed that the investigation was "extremely comprehensive and thorough." The network went on explaining, "Over the course of a two month process, our outside counsel interviewed more than two dozen people regarding the allegations, including multiple separate meetings with the claimant. The investigator is an attorney with nearly 20 years experience and is highly regarded professionally. Any claims that question the legitimacy of this investigation are completely baseless."
Seacrest's attorney, Andrew Baum, told Variety, "It is upsetting to us that Variety is electing to run a 'story' about untrue allegations that were made against my client, after they were told that the accuser threatened to make those false claims against him unless he paid her $15 million. 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 went on saying, "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. 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."
However, Hardy's attorney claimed that neither he nor Hardy has asked Seacrest, E!, or the cable channel's corporate parents for any monetary compensation.
