Ryan Seacrest Responds to Taraji P. Henson ‘Shade’ Claims: ‘Nothing but Love’

Ryan Seacrest says that he has “nothing but love” for Taraji P. Henson despite the shade she threw at the TV personality on the Oscars red carpet.

On Monday, Seacrest, whose red carpet appearance at the Academy Awards was riddled with controversy following sexual misconduct accusations that he is facing, tweeted a response to the apparent jabs that Taraji P. Henson, star of the hit FOX show Empire, made Sunday night.

“Nothing but love for my friend @TheRealTaraji. Thanks for hanging out with us on the #ERedCarpet,” he tweeted.

While Seacrest may have “nothing but love” for Henson, fans weren’t so sure that the same could be said for the Empire star during the red carpet.

“The universe has a way of taking care of good people,” she said as she touched Seacrest on the chin and smirked while the pair were chatting. “You know what I mean?”

The awkward interaction led many to speculate that Henson was throwing a subtle jab at the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against the host, which were detailed by Variety last week.

The 43-year-old was accused in November of ongoing sexual misconduct by his former stylist Suzie Hardy. Hardy, who worked as Seacrest’s personal stylist from 2007 to 2013, detailed the ongoing misconduct she said she suffered at Seacrest’s hands in a letter sent to Seacrest, E!, and its parent company NBC Universal. She also spoke to Variety last week about the alleged abuse, during which she claims Seacrest grabbed her crotch, hugged her while wearing only underwear, and threw her on a bed before rubbing his erection on her.

Hardy also said that after Human Resources approached her about whether she was engaged in a relationship with Seacrest, she reported the allegations and was subsequently fired a short time later.

Despite the disturbing claims, E! said on Feb. 1 it conducted a three-month independent investigation into the matter and cleared Seacrest of wrongdoing. After Hardy’s story went live on Variety last week, Seacrest’s attorney claimed that Hardy was attempting to blackmail him for $15 million.

Following the red carpet interaction and the speculation that she was throwing shade at Seacrest, Henson cleared the air, promising that her comments were “misconstrued” and stating that “I did it to keep his chin up. It’s an awkward position to be in. He’s been cleared by anyone can say anything.”