celebrity

"Does he think we forgot?” The uncomfortable presence on the Golden Globes red carpet.

 

Critics watch The Golden Globes red carpet with lazer-like focus, ready to burn celebrities for fashion missteps. But beyond any errant pump or poorly-chosen clutch, a simple black bracelet was being targeted for entirely different reasons.

The band, with ‘Time’s Up’ stamped in bold, white lettering, was on the wrist of US television host and super-producer, Ryan Seacrest – a man who only 11 months ago was dodging accusations of sexual harassment by his personal stylist, Suzie Hardy.

As Variety reported in February 2017, Hardy had filed a police report alleging the American Idol host had subjected her to unwanted physical contact numerous times over her decade-long employment with the E! network, including “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.”

Seacrest strongly denied the allegations and an independent investigation commissioned by parent company NBCUniversal cleared him of any wrongdoing. But Hardy claims the outside counsel’s probe was incomplete and failed to interview key witnesses, including her therapist and then-partner.

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At the time, the reports saw Seacrest widely snubbed on the 2018 Academy Awards red carpet, with none of the best lead actress nominees stopping to talk to him. Empire star Taraji P. Henson famously quipped to the Mornings with Ryan and Kelly co-host that: “The universe has a way of taking care of good people. Know what I mean?”

A year on, and the celebrities seemed happy to chat to Seacrest during Sunday’s (US time) Golden Globes. But audiences, it seems, weren’t so quick to forgive and forget.

Tweets soon appeared questioning the host’s decision to wear a Time’s Up bracelet; a symbol of the movement established by some of Hollywood’s leading actresses in 2018 in a bid to combat sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and beyond.

“What gives Ryan Seacrest the ego to wear a #TimesUp bracelet?” one viewer wrote. “Does he think we forgot? My dude, the time for you is not today.”

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In a statement issued to Page Six, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal said, “This is old news from nearly a year ago. It’s business as usual for all of us.”