Fears for Ryan Seacrest’s health grew on Sunday night when the host did not seem like himself while hosting the “American Idol finale,” with rumors starting to swirl that he suffered a stroke on live television when he began slurring his words. Now, a rep for the star is speaking out to claim that Seacrest suffered no such health crisis, and is instead doing just fine.
Bizarre footage of Seacrest behaving strangely and slurring his words on live television began circulating on social media on Sunday night, quickly going viral.
“Is @RyanSeacrest okay? Not making light of this. He went from normal to his speech being off and his eye shutting halfway,” one worried fan tweeted alongside video of the host.
Is @RyanSeacrest okay? Not making light of this. He went from normal to his speech being off and his eye shutting halfway. #ryanseacrest #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/9LCKTLjxpe
— drak31221 (@drak31221) May 18, 2020
As rumors continued to swirl into Monday, a rep for Seacrest finally spoke out to deny claims that he had suffered a stroke.
“Ryan did not have any kind of stroke last night,” his rep told People magazine. “Like many people right now, Ryan is adjusting to the new normal and finding work-home balance, with the added stress of having to put on live shows from home.”
“Between ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan,’ ‘American Idol,’ ‘On Air with Ryan Seacrest,’ and the Disney Family Singalong specials, he has been juggling three to four on-air jobs over the last few weeks and he’s in need of rest,” the rep continued. “So today he took a well-deserved day off.”
Going into the finale, “Idol” mentor Bobby Bones spoke out to praise Seacrest for his work ethic.
“Ryan’s the greatest of all time at what he does,” Bones said. “I don’t think Ryan ever gets nervous — he’s the GOAT of hosts. I don’t really consider myself a host as much as someone who can be funny and hopefully help people.”
“Ryan is the greatest — I talk to Ryan almost every day at this point and he’s just like, ‘Okay, we’ve got A, B … he’s just so good at what he does. Ryan’s not worried. If he is, I can’t tell,” he added.
However, these reassurances have done little to stop fans from being fearful about the host’s health.
“I thought he was having a stroke. He needs to get checked out. Very scared for him,” one social media user commented, with another adding, “Looks to me as he was experiencing a TIA, without any permanent damage. Yes, speech was slur, and his right eye, and side, seems to be experiencing some neuro deficit.”
We can only hope that Seacrest’s rep was telling the truth, and that he is indeed fine.
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