Ryan Seacrest has built a many-tentacled brand from his effortless, polished skills as a G-rated radio and TV presenter. But an awkward exchange with American Idol judge Katy Perry on Sunday night’s semifinal show has a lot of Idol fans wondering what Seacrest was thinking when he unleashed what sounded like a prying question.
As the ABC reboot narrowed down the contestants to the final three on the Mother’s Day edition — where Seacrest and judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie‘s mothers were on hand — the host made things uncomfortable while trying to seemingly pay Perry a compliment. Though Katy’s mom was not in the house, Seacrest looked Perry in the eyes and said in a flat voice, “Your mom’s pretty,” while tapping his pen on the judges’ desk.
Katy, who just a second earlier muttered “we’re on” — perhaps alerting Seacrest to their return from commercial on the live broadcast — responded, “My mom? Well, I hope the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” smiling and giving her shoulders a bit of a shimmy as Richie let out a “whooooo!” Dropping his voice, Seacrest offered, “You are too. But you’re not a mom yet,” which Perry confirmed with a “Not yet.”
And then Seacrest said something that raised a lot of eyebrows: “Wanna talk about it?” appearing to throw Perry off, as she replied with a shocked, “What?!” and Bryan joked about leaking a rumor about Perry, whose mother got to know Seacrest’s over the weekend when the two spent some quality time together in Los Angeles. Seacrest looked around and Perry inquired, “Are we live?” to which he replied, “I think we’re back,” tipping some viewers off to the fact that he might not have known the conversation was beaming out to viewers at home.
Was it just friendly banter between the old friends accidentally caught on a hot mic chatting about their new pal moms during the commercial break? “Is this real TV?” Katy said, laughing. “Are we professionals?”
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The back-and-forth struck some Twitter users as especially odd considering that before the Idol season got started, Seacrest was embroiled in allegations of harassment by a former E! stylist who said he acted inappropriately toward her when they worked together a decade ago; E! said it investigated the claims and found insufficient evidence, and Seacrest has vehemently denied the claims.
A spokesperson for Idol had no official comment at press time, and spokespeople for Perry and Seacrest had not returned requests for comment. But the internet had plenty to say about Seacrest’s “mom” talk with Perry, with some wondering if it was just a planned bit that went sideways, an out-of-context conversation that began off camera, or just a very weird moment.
Check out some of the reactions below.
katy perry literally had to tell ryan seacrest that the cameras were rolling and he continues to hit on her, asks if she’s a mom and says “you wanna talk about it??” after she says no. what’s going on i’m uncomfortable #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/ichf6TWGoh
— WE WANT AL4 || 31 171 (@WHAMCULT) May 14, 2018
Did anyone else just witness the super uncomfortable comments Ryan Seacrest just said to Katy Perry when he didn’t know he was live? #AmericanIdol
— Wiz ? Ke??eyfa (@Hottkoolaid) May 14, 2018
What was with that creepy #AmericanIdol moment with Ryan Seacrest just now? I am so uncomfortable. ——–
— Kim (@__Kim6611) May 14, 2018
I can’t believe Ryan Seacrest just insinuated that he wanted to impregnate Katy Perry on live television whilst under the impression they were on a commercial break omg wtf #AmericanIdol
— nina (@povpaul) May 14, 2018
Watching @AmericanIdol and just constantly thinking about how @RyanSeacrest was accused of a bunch of disgusting sexual assault accusations. Why and how u still allowed to host this show ?
— Britt (@bbgirlbritt) May 14, 2018
That delay on @AmericanIdol when no one knew they were back so Ryan Seacrest asks Katy Perry if she’s a mom and if she wants him to help with that made me feel so uncomfortable. Is that an appropriate question? I don’t think so.
— Patrick Kelley (@pk1026) May 14, 2018
Sooooo, idk but watching Ryan Seacrest when he didn’t know he was on the air just totally changed things. That was like an entirely different person than who he portrays on the air. And I’m disappointed. Wow that was creepy.
— Jenny Duffy (@PumpkinLove14) May 14, 2018
I thought that was really weird too. I’ve worked on several shows, and it’s all extremely controlled, the count down from commercials and on air time, so I think it was planned. But it was indeed very strange in my opinion.
— Fred Herrman (@fredherrman) May 14, 2018
Um obviously Katy and Ryan have a joking relationship. And Katy didn’t seem to mind so I don’t know why people are so upset
— shell (@anotherdramax2) May 15, 2018