Ryan Seacrest's former stylist, Suzie Hardy, says she's now contacted the LAPD and filed a police report after publicly accusing Seacrest of sexual harassment.
Ryan Seacrest's former stylist, Suzie Hardy, says she's now contacted the LAPD and filed a police report after publicly accusing Seacrest of sexual harassment.
Seacrest has vehemently denied Hardy's allegations that he sexually harassed her while they worked together from 2007 to 2013, after Variety published a report detailing Hardy's allegations. According to the outlet, Hardy alleged that Seacrest subjected her to "years of unwanted sexual aggression -- 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."
In an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, Seacrest wrote that an independent third party found the claims against him to be unsubstantiated, and there was no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. ET also obtained a statement from an E! spokesperson last month, who called the network's investigation into the allegations against Seacrest "extremely comprehensive and thorough."
However, in Hardy's own op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday, she calls NBCUniversal's investigation "an incomplete investigation of the facts," and says she recently filed a police report. An LAPD spokesperson told ET on Thursday that concerning Hardy, a police report was taken and that Robbery-Homicide is handling the investigation.
"Those who work with Ryan seem to hope I will just go away," Hardy writes. "Well, 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. Ryan’s team of lawyers, who are also representing Harvey Weinstein, do not intimidate me. If Ryan is so innocent, why hasn't he called me a liar or sued me or presented evidence of my so-called extortion plot?"
Hardy claims she gave a full account of her accusations to the E! HR department back in 2012, and was let go without severance or an explanation.
"It was never my intention to go public," she writes. "When I was enduring harassment, I stayed away from HR because I was informed it was a one-way ticket to the unemployment line. But because so many of the incidents occurred in front of other people, HR actually called me in to ask if there was something going on romantically between me and my boss. When asked on the spot, I spilled everything to them … and then was systematically flushed."
"All I wanted was an apology, some validation and some real action to protect women in the workplace," she continues. "What I got was NBC promising to do a thorough and confidential investigation of my claims. Sadly, NBC did not interview 10 of the witnesses I provided, including my therapist and my boyfriend at the time. After closing the books on its 'inconclusive' investigation, NBC refused to provide me with any of its findings or even the HR reports from my 2012 claims."
Hardy later blasts celebs who continue to be interviewed by Seacrest, and points out his multiple gigs hosting Live With Kelly and Ryan and American Idol. Hardy claims she was invited to tell her story on NBC's Megyn Kelly Today, but the "invitation disappeared."
"Everyone in Hollywood who stands by Ryan now is choosing not to believe me," she writes. "That includes every guest on his shows, every studio and network that does business with him, every celebrity who talks to him on a red carpet. Know that this is a choice you are making."
In response to Hardy's op-ed, Seacrest's attorney, Andrew Baum, said in a statement to ET on Thursday that he remains confident that Seacrest will be cleared of any wrongdoing. He also claims Hardy asked Seacrest for money, which she has previously denied.
"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," the statement reads. "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."
RELATED CONTENT:
