Ryan Seacrest Interviewed Christopher Plummer At The Oscars & Twitter Did NOT Ignore The Irony

Going into the red carpet coverage for the 2018 Oscars, one of the biggest questions wasn't about who would wear which designer or who certain celebrities would bring as their dates, but rather something far more serious: Would actors stop to talk with Ryan Seacrest? The E! host currently faces allegations of sexual harassment from his former wardrobe stylist — which he has repeatedly denied — but he still decided to be on hand to co-host the red carpet show. He seemed to be getting fewer interviews with top stars as compared to his past award show coverage, but Seacrest did interview Christopher Plummer, which led to plenty of commentary on Twitter from viewers of the live show.

During their interview, Seacrest and Plummer spoke about the actor's nomination for Best Supporting Actor for All The Money In The World. A role which he took on after Kevin Spacey was cut from the film after the allegations against him were made public. In fact, Seacrest and Plummer talked specifically about the 88-year-old shooting the film in nine days because he was replacing Spacey.

Plummer replaced Spacey very last-minute and ended up with an Oscar nomination, and in the time since, it's become a bit of a running joke that Plummer should replace people for all sorts of the things. The latest? That he should replace Ryan Seacrest as host of the E! red carpet. Here's what Twitter had to say about what they hoped would be Plummer's latest role:

He Can Do It All

Really, though, who wouldn't have wanted to watch how Plummer fared as host?

He's Ready

"Oh, I'll just take that mic now, if that's cool."

Thinking Ahead

Well, since the red carpet thing didn't work out...

Re-shoot Time?

I mean, if he can score an Oscar nom after only working for nine days, how long would this take?

It's "Meta"

Viewers could not ignore the fact that this was an uncomfortable situation.

His Latest Role

He could probably handle it. Maybe land him an Emmy?

He Could Interview Himself

Why not?

It's "A Choice"

Jokes aside, it stood out that while Seacrest and Plummer talked about the actor taking over the role last-minute, they didn't mention Spacey or the reason why Plummer had to step in.

The allegations against Seacrest first made headlines in November 2017. Although her name was not public at the time, Seacrest's former wardrobe stylist Suzie Hardy, accused the host of multiple instances of sexual harassment while she worked for him. Seacrest denied the allegations, and an internal investigation at E! found "insufficient" evidence. E! released the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter:

E! has now concluded the investigation into allegations regarding Ryan Seacrest. The investigation, conducted by outside counsel, found insufficient evidence to support the claims against Seacrest and therefore could not be substantiated. E! is committed to providing a safe working environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

Last week, Hardy came forward in a report from Variety, in which she stood by her claims and said that E!'s investigation finding "insufficient evidence" was part of the reason she decided to speak out publicly. In response to the Variety story, Seacrest released the following statement to Bustle:

Much has been said about the #MeToo and Times Up movement(s) and the importance of providing women and men with the opportunity to share their stories of workplace misconduct, in an effort to change our culture and the systemic inequalities that exist. I absolutely support this cause unequivocally and applaud all the brave souls who have come forward to share their stories.

Sadly, last fall I became one of the accused, which I promptly revealed proactively to the network involved and to the public. And to be equally clear, those accusations were then investigated by an independent third-party over the course of a two-month process and involved dozens of interviews that included me, the accuser and countless others. Ultimately, my name was cleared. I eagerly participated in the investigation in order to demonstrate my innocence because I know my truth, and I believe in due process.

Yesterday, VARIETY published a salacious story that revealed the specific claims against me for the first time – even though an independent third-party investigator found insufficient evidence to support the claims. Much to my dismay, Variety didn’t speak with me or bother to speak with other credible witnesses or even ask for any of the evidence that was obtained during the investigation when offered, all of which clearly challenged the veracity of the claims made against me.

This person who has accused me of horrible things offered, on multiple occasions, to withdraw her claims if I paid her millions of dollars. I refused. I have worked extremely hard to achieve my success and I don’t take my opportunities for granted. I don’t want to accuse anyone of not telling the truth but in this case, I have no choice but to again deny the claims against me, remind people that I was recused of any wrongdoing, and put the matter to rest.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.