Seacrest Denies That He had A Stroke During Live ‘American Idol’ Finale

Ryan Seacrest denied rumors that he had a stroke during the American Idol finale on Sunday.

Fans of the show became worried for long-time American Idol  host’s health when he seemed to have a difficulty speaking and then later appeared to not be able to open his right eye all the way. 

One fan tweeted a video of the incident and said, “98% sure ryan seacrest had a stroke on live TV last night. he’s not on live with kelly this morning, either, which is…concerning”

Seacrest was also due to appear the next morning on Live With Kelly and Ryan. Kelly Ripa explained Seacrest’s absence by saying, “Ryan worked late last night on American Idol, so he’s taking the morning off.” 

In response to viewer speculation, a representative of Seacrest told People, “Ryan did not have any kind of stroke last night. 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. So today he took a well-deserved day off.”

In an interview earlier this month, Seacrest said, “We put the show together earlier in the week because there are so many factors to it. Every once in a while we have to be careful not to step on each other while we’re talking because there’s that delay that we’ve all experienced talking to our families at home on different Zooms and things like that.”

Seacrest announced Samantha Diaz, “Just Sam,” as the winner of this season’s American Idol. Diaz said on the virtual broadcast of the finale, “I would have never ever, ever expected this. Thank you, thank you, thank you for voting for me.”

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