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Spoilers for the American Idol finale below, but everyone knows who won at this point
The finale for American Idol aired on Sunday night. I haven’t watched it in years, but I was talking to my mom while the finale aired and I watched some of it with her. Her favorite singer, Just Sam/Samantha won! Sam was raised by her grandmother in New York City, where she still lives in a tiny apartment, and she used to sing in the subway to make ends meet. I heard her sing a Kelly Clarkson song and she was incredible of course. Sam was quarantined in Las Vegas during the at-home portions of Idol. I’m sure she had people helping her there, but it must have been tough. The rest of the contestants, the judges and the host, Ryan Seacrest, were home. Ryan was broadcasting from a big table with an American Idol neon sign right behind him. I didn’t notice him looking any weirder than usual but at one point one of his eyes was drooping significantly and people wondered if he was having a stroke. You can see a video of that below, it’s really pronounced and he struggled with his words a little. Plus Ryan didn’t show up for his job on Monday for Live with Kelly and Ripa. Ryan’s rep has issued a statement that he’s fine though and just stressed from working so much.
That concern grew during the Monday, May 18, episode of Live With Kelly and Ryan, when he did not join Kelly Ripa as cohost — her husband, Mark Consuelos, filled in. “Ryan worked late last night on American Idol, so he’s taking the morning off,” Ripa, 49, said on the show.
However, he’s simply exhausted, Us Weekly confirmed.
“Ryan did not have any kind of stroke last night,” his publicist said in a statement to People magazine on Monday. “Like many people right now, Ryan is adjusting to the new normal and finding work-home balance, with the added stress of having to put on live shows from home.”
The rep added: “Between Live With Kelly and Ryan, American Idol, On Air With Ryan Seacrest, and the Disney Family Singalong specials, he has been juggling three-four on-air jobs over the last few weeks and he’s in need of rest. So today he took a well-deserved day off.”
Ryan is a garbage person on many levels, plus he ruins the red carpet coverage on E!, but I do feel for him on this. I had bell’s palsy in my face years ago, I’m pretty sure it was lyme-related, but that was hard to deal with. Some people get droopiness like that just from being stressed and tired. Both my aunt and mom have one eye that will dilate while the other one stays completely normal. It could definitely be Botox-related, but I buy that he’s also overworked. It’s been years since I’ve worked as much as I have lately. I think I’m just doing it to myself though. Since we’re home all the time, I feel like I have to do more than usual to make up for it. Ryan was already that way. Maybe he’ll step back a little and we’ll see less of him after this.
Here’s that video:
Shit, I missed ALL of this. That’s kind of scary, to be honest. Especially in terms of covid- you’ve had a lot of otherwise healthy people having strokes.
I will say I probably looked just as suspicious Sunday night. I don’t know what happened but all weekend one of my eyes was puffy. I don’t know if I got a bug bite near my eye, or if I had a mild infection or what. But it was itchy and watery until it wasn’t. Monday morning it was pretty much like nothing had happened.
I do suspect there may have been some Botox related reasons in Ryan’s case. Maybe it wasn’t applied properly or something – and maybe it’s starting to fade a bit. No idea. I know that stress can really screw up a lot of things though – it just seems like it might be more than that. He DOES have way more on his plate than I initially thought, though.
I dont think it’s the Botox. I’ve had Botox, and when it starts wearing off, you just feel the muscles in the area start moving and the gradual worsening of your wrinkles. Never a big difference in the shape or opening of my eyes like you see in Ryan’s.
Ryan only have himself to blame for overworking. his ego plays a big part.
He’s struggling with words
His eye is markedly different
He should have a head CT asap
I hope he did get that head CT to rule out a stroke. Even if it’s just stress those symptoms are no joke.
His eyes look exactly the same as in the pictures. His left eye is slightly larger/more open/puffier than his right and it’s just more pronounced on zoom/home lighting. Im not worried about him.
Me either. I just thought it was his angle to the camera, that whole side of his face looked warped like when you get in to close on selfie cam. He did look like he is SO over American Idol when he was slumped over on his elbow on the desk, though.
Man, he has had too much done to his face. His face looks like wax. I think they left the furrow lines between his brows to give him a natural look. But it didn’t work lol. I’m 44 and trying to decide if I want to do Botox. I’ve done it before and liked the results. But at 44, if you don’t have any wrinkles, it’s a giveaway thatt you’ve had something done when you have zero wrinkles. What are your guys thoughts on that?
I just turned 54 and have been getting Botox for over a decade. It’s really made a difference as I aged. People think I’m in my 40s. Just ask for a light touch and go three to four times a year. Trust me, you won’t regret regular Botox maintenance when you’re in your 50s. It doesn’t just help hide them, it also helps them from not getting any worse.
Oh, this makes me feel better about wanting to start light Botox at 32. Thanks!
I’m 36 and got botox to stop my gums from showing when I smile. I love it
Go the JLo route. Tactically leave some in. She doesn’t have any lines around her eyes or between her brows but left in the horizontal forehead furrows to make it seem natural. I hate when people go nuts on botox and look like a face reflected in a spoon.
Was it too much botox? Make sure you get it done by a professional.
@joanna I’m 44 and been using it and will continue to. No shame here!
That might sound stupid but I don’t see the same person in the pictures and the video lol maybe I’m tired too
It could be a Transient Ischemic Attack. Can be triggered by stress/fatigue.
Or even a migraine can do this to some people.
I had a killer migraine about 3 weeks ago and I had a meeting I had to run. I sounded a lot like that. It was hard to think of the words I had to say, I had taken a lot of pauses between words, I fumbled on my words and one eye was closed more than the other. I had to apologize to the meeting attendees because I felt like they might think I was drunk. I hope that’s all it was for him.
Maybe he was having a panic attack. I had one during a work presentation once, where I lost control of my entire face. It was terrifying. I hope he’s ok.
Could be a Cluster headache. They are nasty as f* and they present like that. They start quickly and are over just as quickly. They are more common in men but happen in women too.
Yes, and they can also screw with your ability to vocalize properly.
I thought about this a bit more, and I think that’s at least somewhat possible/likely. I know when I get really deep into a bad migraine – one of the ones where no drug wants to touch it – I will stumble with my speech a bit. Trip over words, that sort of thing.
His voice changed too, like he knew something was going on. Sometimes when I get really tired, my eyelids twitch or sort of spasm, maybe it was something like that.
He is not a good person, but I hope it wasn’t a stroke.
He gave us the Kardashian so this must be a punishment for that 😬. But aside that I hope he gets proper treatment, it’s looked like he really had a stroke 😰
Oof, going right to stroke is dark. But it was really obvious that something was off and I’m sure he’s been checked out.
Sometimes in the morning my right eye is a little smaller than the left and takes a while to “wake up”. Stress and tiredness can do a number on us.
I have a slightly droopy left eye and when I’m tired, it’s worse.
Yeah… he got checked out by a doctor for sure, maybe at a hospital. I’m a physician and I watched it live- they can deny it but it looked like at least a transient ischemic attack.
I watched it happen and thought he was having technical difficulties due to the fact that everyone was broadcasting from home. But watching again after all the controversy I say maybe he did a home botox application due to the quarantine and it went wrong? I noticed he had his arms up on the table in front of him in a big way, almost like he was trying to hide himself from the camera, which is not typical Ryan Seacrest behavior. Anyway, hope he finds out exactly what it was and gets treatment … maybe some R&R on top of everything as now they’ve announced that he is stressed.
I did watch the show and have to rejoice in Just Sam winning. The new reboot of AI is LAME and this season was hustled off the air in record time, but wow. What a winner. She’s got a magical voice and I’m so glad she won over the other white guys with guitars that were her competition. I hope she can launch this win into some kind of lasting career.
Ryan did seem uninterested on this years panel.
It appears his left eye is bigger than his right eye. If you google pictures of him, it’s more obvious in some than in others. He probably normally gets botox/some type of filler to even it out and is unable to do so at this time for obvious reasons. The word salad is more concerning to me than the bulging eye.
There was definitely something going on and it could have been a number of things I think. Stroke, allergic reaction, sudden nausea, dizziness…
I can tell you that I get horribly nauseous and dizzy from lack of sleep. I’m not sure it’s a common thing but it’s especially apparent when I travel into different time zones. As I’ve gotten older, the effects of jet lag have increased and the first thing I HAVE to do when I get to a destination is take a nap. And I really have to take it easy the first day or so. There were a few times when I lived in NYC where I only got maybe 3-4 hours of sleep and I would have what I called a “dizziness attack” on the subway on my way to work. It was horrible especially if I couldn’t get a seat and had to stand, because I would get all sweaty, dizzy, and the urge to vomit was so strong. Sometimes I didn’t give a crap and I would just squat, I didn’t care if the train was crowded, I had no strength to stand and someone might take pity and give me their seat. The episode would usually pass after an hour or so but I really could not do anything until the feeling would pass. I only ever actually threw up once (not on the subway thank God) but that sensation that you’re about to be sick is VERY strong and can disrupt everything. My body is very sensitive to getting enough sleep and if I don’t, my stomach and head revolt.
Ryan might not be a great human being, but it is well-known he is a workaholic and has a strong work ethic. I wouldn’t be surprised if his unhealthy work habits are catching up to him if he’s been working 3-4 on air jobs. Nobody can be on all the time like that it’s not healthy. Maybe he experienced a dizziness attack like I did or something else, a seizure, a migraine, who knows. Whatever happened, I hope he now realizes he needs to make his health a priority.
I am the same way with sleep too. If I miss sleep or don’t sleep right I get dizzy, a headache, and nauseous too. Glad I’m not alone with that!
Me too. If I don’t get enough sleep I feel physically ill. All the symptoms you mentioned.
That sounds like my anxiety attack symptoms.