No mention of Ryan Seacrest sexual harassment allegations on ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’

Ryan Seacrest did not address the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by a former co-worker during Tuesday’s edition of his syndicated morning show “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

Seacrest came under scrutiny again on Monday following Variety‘s exclusive publication of an interview with Suzie Hardy, a former stylist who worked with him at E! Entertainment.

Hardy assets that she repeatedly faced sexually aggressive overtures from Seacrest during her years working as his personal stylist. Seacrest has denied Hardy’s allegations, and his lawyer asserted that Hardy previously sought a $15 million payment from Seacrest to keep quiet about her accusations. Hardy and her attorney maintain that no such payment was ever sought.

Late last month, E! announced that it found “insufficient evidence” to support Hardy’s allegations after an investigation by an outside firm. Hardy said she was motivated to come forward by the sheer number of women who have come forward in the #MeToo moment with horror stories of enduring sexual harassment and assault. Seacrest has publicly stated that he has been wrongly accused.

Seacrest hosted “Live” as scheduled on Tuesday. Seacrest and his co-host Kelly Ripa bantered as usual in the show’s opening “host chat” segment but did not address the allegations. Hardy’s claims against Seacrest were widely reported by other media after Variety‘s story broke Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, “CBS This Morning” and NBC’s “Today” ran stories about Hardy’s allegations. ABC’s “Good Morning America,” a sibling under the Disney umbrella of “Live,” did not cover the story.

Seacrest and Ripa opened the show with a chat about their visit to the same dentist on Monday for a teeth-whitening procedure. “I realized I have the pain threshold of a Care Bear,” Seacrest joked in discussing the surprisingly painful the whitening process.

Seacrest is scheduled to host E!’s red carpet coverage of Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, although pressure may grow for him to step aside given the high level of support among Hollywood’s A-list women for the Time’s Up effort to aid victims of sexual harassment.