Facing lingering sexual misconduct allegations, Ryan Seacrest’s coverage of the red carpet arrivals at Sunday’s Academy Awards took a hit of 43 percent from a year ago.
Seacrest’s coverage, broadcast on the E! network, averaged a 0.4 rating in its key 18-49 demographic and attracted a total of 1.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The rating is a 43 percent drop compared with 2017, while total viewership also fell by 35 percent.
The poor performance also matches that of the awards ceremony itself, whose telecast saw a 19 percent drop to just 26.5 million viewers, marking an all-time low for the Oscars ceremony.
The ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, saw nominees repeatedly make political statements about issues ranging from sexual harassment to gun control.
However, Seacrest’s post-awards show Live With Kelly and Ryan fared slightly better, drawing a 3.0 rating in metered-market households and becoming the most popular syndicated talk show on Monday.
Ryan Seacrest, 43, appears to have successfully shrugged off recent allegations of sexual harassment, with former employee Suzie Hardy accusing him of “years of unwanted sexual aggression” while working as his personal stylist.
Hardy told Variety of Seacrest “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 has vehemently denied all the allegations, while the E! network said after an internal investigation had found “insufficient evidence” to support her claims.
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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