He had made it clear that the show must go on, despite reports that publicists planned to steer their A-list clients elsewhere after sexual harassment scandal.
But while Ryan Seacrest kept his top spot on the Oscars red carpet, his co-host Giuliana Rancic was relegated elsewhere by E! – broadcasting down the street by the pool at the Roosevelt Hotel.
While it was an idyllic setting, it was far from the hustle and bustle of the star-studded carpet,a four-minute walk away down the busy Hollywood Boulevard.
The bizarre set-up appeared to be E!’s solution to the difficulties caused by Ryan’s personal issues – he has been hit by sexual harassment allegations from his ex-stylist, Suzie Hardy.
Ryan Seacrest secures only TWO celebrity interviews in first hour of E! coverage amid harassment scandal… he posted this defiant picture before the show
Kept his top spot: But Ryan failed to secure his usual A-list interview subjects
While he has strongly defended himself against the unsubstantiated accusations, and was found of no wrong-doing by an internal investigation, publicists were understandably keen to avoid taking any chances.
Given the current climate and the Me Too campaign to end assault in showbiz, many stars were said to be planning to opt not to be interviewed by the popular 43-year-old presenter.
Indeed during the first 50 minutes of the network’s normally star-studded coverage, Ryan only managed to bag two interviews – with 24-year-old Disney star Sofia Carson and veteran song-writer Diane Warren.
Spot on: Fans pointed out that Giuliana was the one to be relegated, as Ryan kept his top spot on the carpet
Far from a household name, Sofia stopped to chat a few minutes into the show, then it took more than 30 minutes for Ryan to steal Diane’s time.
Musician Miguel also chatted briefly to Ryan, who kept cutting back to Giuliana.
For the rest of the time Ryan sportscasted and provided rolling coverage of what was happening behind him on the carpet, but did not manage to interview any of his normal A-listers.
Sharing a picture to Instagram before the show, he had appareaed defiant, smiling and captioning the shot: ‘Almost showtime
However the beleagured presenter looked less than happy in a candid shot taken as he left theAmerican Idol studios in Hollywood the previous night.
Worried man: Ryan Seacrest looked less than happy when he left the American Idol studios in Hollywood on Saturday ahead of his gig on the Oscars red carpet after assault allegations
Going ahead as normal: The popular 43-year-old presenter posted this Instagram snap on Sunday captioned, ‘Pre #Oscars huddle for the #ERedCarpet. 12th year with this team’
NBCUniversal confirmed Wednesday that Ryan would not be replaced despite the sexual harassment allegations.
The media giant has said an internal probe failed to find sufficient evidence to support them.
Her story: Ryan’s former stylist Suzie Hardy accused him of sexual harassment but an internal probe by NBCUniversal cleared him after failing to find sufficient evidence
Suzie described the network’s investigation as a whitewash in an interview with Variety.
She also detailed his behavior claiming he placed his erect penis against her while wearing only his underwear, groped her and slapped her rear.
Ryan categorically denies her allegations and has accused her of trying to extort money from him.
On the fence: Jennifer Lawrence, who will be on the red carpet on Sunday, was non-committal about whether she’d stop to be interviewed by Ryan when asked by Howard Stern recently