If there was ever a headline with a shorter lag time between “Oh my god?!” and “Oh, well, great!,” we can’t remember it. Despite viewer concerns, which immediately turned into wild viewer speculation, no, Ryan Seacrest did not have a stroke, on-air or otherwise, during Sunday’s American Idol finale. “Ryan did not have any kind of stroke last night,” the host’s representative told People. “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.”
In case you, personally, weren’t watching during Sunday night’s episode, audience members couldn’t help but worry when they saw Seacrest stumbling over his words at certain points, with one of his eyes appearing to close, causing some to worry he was struggling through some kind of neurological emergency. Compounding their concern was his absence from his early gig Live with Kelly and Ryan on Monday morning.
According to his reps, however, Seacrest is just struggling with extreme exhaustion brought on by his (honestly, kind of insane) quarantine work schedule. “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,” his rep continued. “So today he took a well-deserved day off.”
