‘American Idol’ Alum Opens up About Ryan Seacrest Relationship, Drug Abuse in New Documentary

Comedian Brian Dunkleman, who famously co-hosted the first season of American Idol with Ryan Seacrest, is the subject of a new documentary about his life after leaving the series. In Dunkleman, the 49-year-old recounts his drug abuse and relationship with Seacrest during his brief time on Idol. Dunkleman was last in the news back in 2019, when it was revealed he was making money as an Uber driver.

“Dunkleman. Say it. Kinda fun, huh? Not ringing a bell? Google my name,” Dunkleman said in the trailer for the documentary shared by Radar Online. “God, I wish I never had. Make sure you spell it right. After about 140,000 hits or so, you will begin to understand my notoriety that, yes, in 2002, I hosted the No. 1 show in the history of modern television. And after 25 episodes, I quit. Or did I? Sometimes, I can’t remember.” He teased the answer to the “dumbest f—ing movie of all time,” which was leaving Idol just before it became a sensation.

As for his relationship with Seacrest, Dunkleman said the two were “butting heads” all the time behind the scenes. “I yelled again. I was like, ‘Ryan!’ He turns around. He’s like, ‘What!?’” Dunkleman said. “Seacrest, Seacrest. F— Ryan Seacrest. I could’ve snapped his neck if I wanted to. I’ve seen movies. I think I could do it! God, that would’ve gotten a s—load of hits on YouTube.”

In another part of the trailer, Dunkleman slammed the scripts he was given on Idol. He claims he once heard Simon Cowell call the show was “ridiculous” because they have “already let two other monkeys through,” referring to bad singers who auditioned. This caused Randy Jackson to snap at Cowell for calling people monkeys. Dunkleman claims he thought Jackson was “gonna knock him out.”

Dunkleman said he was “up doing” cocaine “all night” before a live episode. The drug use was “ridiculous,” he said, adding that he also used ecstasy and other drugs. “It’s just another thing that made me look like a difficult a—hole, and they decided to keep one, and it wasn’t me,” he said. Dunkleman claimed one manager turned him down, telling him he had the “stink on you.”

When American Idol Season 2 premiered, Dunkleman said he “couldn’t function” and hoped a plane he was on would crash because “I just don’t wanna be alive anymore.” Dunkleman also talked about the stress he faced after getting married and the 2019 headlines about him working as an Uber driver. “Doesn’t matter if I drive an Uber. Doesn’t matter if I’m on a f— television show. Just trying to be the best dad I can,” he said.

Back in 2019, TMZ reported that Dunkleman listed his job as an Uber driver in his divorce documents. After the report, Dunkleman defended halting his stand-up career so he could support his son as an Uber driver. “I chose to stop doing standup comedy and started driving an Uber so I could be there for my son as much as he needed after our life as we knew it was destroyed,” he tweeted in January 2019, tagging TMZ. “Print that.”