3 Stars Who Want Nothing To Do With Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest is known as one of the kings of entertainment media and has rubbed shoulders with the who's-who of Hollywood. However, no one is friends with everyone, and the famed TV personality is no exception to the rule. 

We'll start with Seacrest's "American Idol" colleague, Simon Cowell. As many will recall, the host and judge were known for their back-and-forth banter and at-times tense-seeming relationship — and even early on, they had to clarify that it was playful. In an interview on Season 7 of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Seacrest quipped that while he liked to make his colleague uncomfortable (something Cowell seemed to enjoy as well, as Seacrest recounted a time the famed judge made him miss his cue), "We're actually friendly." He added, "We don't hold a grudge. We have very competitive spirit and attitude on the show, but we're friends." That certainly seemed to be the case, with Just Jared publishing pictures of the two of them jet skiing together in the Bahamas in 2009. However, fast-forward 16 years, and Cowell revealed that he and his former co-worker no longer spoke.

Asked about Seacrest's success in an appearance on "The Interview" in late 2025, Cowell joked that he wasn't sure what made him quite so big a star, though that appeared good-natured. However, some thought he may have been a tad shady when he mused, "I don't follow his career, if I'm being honest with you, so I don't know what he's done or doing. You know, we rarely talk now." The bigger zinger, though, came when Cowell said, "[Seacrest] was very steely about ... his career and wanting to be famous. I mean, this massive, massive desire about being, you know, very famous." Cowell said it with a smile, but we totes see why many perceived it as a mini jab. 

Sticking with Simon Cowell, it's worth noting that not everyone is convinced that the record exec's quips about Ryan Seacrest were all that lighthearted. Far from it, speaking to Rob Shuter in 2025, a number of people familiar with the former co-stars hinted at Cowell getting a kick out of teasing the former "E! Live from the Red Carpet" host. 

"Simon takes little digs. Ryan pretends he doesn't notice. But he notices," said one of Shuter's sources. That was backed up by another, who told Shuter, "For twenty years it's been the same dance. Simon can't resist poking. Ryan avoids confrontation. And every few years, something sets it off again."

If the insiders are to be believed and Cowell and Seacrest really never have been friendly further than professionally polite (though we once again refer to those jet ski pics), it certainly doesn't seem as though there was any love lost between the pair. After all, as one insider told Shuter, "They tolerated each other for the show, but that's where it stopped." Likewise, another rubbished the claims that they sparred solely to entertain viewers. "People think it was playful TV banter — insiders know they just never liked each other," they said. Well, real beef or not, it certainly made for entertaining TV.

On to another polite-but-was-it-shade comment made about Ryan Seacrest that had us thinking someone couldn't stand him (there's a mouthful), some may recall that after Derek Hough's 2025 appearance on "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune," there was a serious case of he-said-he-said. 

Derek had appeared on the show alongside his "Dancing with the Stars" colleagues, which some might have thought would have been awkward at first (after all, Seacrest was in a relationship with Derek's sister Julianne Hough for years before they split in 2013). That said, Derek did say in a 2022 joint interview with his sister for "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" that there was no weirdness — and in a behind-the-scenes special for "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" for Extra, the dancer also referred to Seacrest as "my buddy." All that said, things got a tad uncomfortable when Seacrest claimed to USA Today after the episode was taped, "In the commercial break, [Derek] was jumping on the center of the wheel and having Bruno spin it, much like the top of a cake ornament. ... We did say, 'Please don't do that. That would break it, and there's only one of those wheels. If that breaks, we have a real problem.'"

Perhaps Seacrest was joking when he said that, but Derek made a point of correcting him in an Instagram Story. "Btw, this is 1000% NOT true," he wrote in an Instagram Story (via E! News). "I would never disrespect a set like that however awesome that would've been to be 'spun around it like a cake ornament' haha," he added. Between the cry-laughing emoji and the "haha," it almost felt as though Derek was trying to soften the blow of the call-out, so maybe he and Seacrest are all good. Either way, awks.

It bears mentioning that not everyone who's had something to say about Ryan Seacrest has been quite so determined to keep things light and polite. Case in point: Andy Cohen, whose feud with Ryan Seacrest was very public. 

The first sign of tension between the two media men came during the 2021 CNN New Year's Eve coverage. Cohen went viral for several colorful moments during the broadcast, and memorably made fun of Seacrest's own coverage for ABC. "There's a bunch of smoke coming from Ryan Seacrest's group of losers that are performing behind us. I mean, with all due, if you've been watching ABC tonight, you've seen nothing!" he declared drunkenly as Anderson Cooper giggled awkwardly (via We Have to Go Back). To his credit, Cohen did apologize soon after, admitting he had major regrets. "I slammed the ABC broadcast, and I really like Ryan Seacrest, and he's a great guy, and I really regret saying that, and I was just stupid and drunk and feeling it. ... I felt bad about that," he said on "Radio Andy."

Unfortunately, the drama didn't stop there, and the following year, Seacrest claimed that he'd waved over at both Cohen and Cooper, but that only Anderson acknowledged him. Kelly Ripa called Seacrest out and denied that was the case, but Cohen weighed in on it as well on "Radio Andy." "Ryan, I don't know — he's got a bug up about me," Cohen mused, before calling Cooper to verify that he'd thought the Bravo producer had already said hi. Cohen and Seacrest ultimately "squashed the beef" on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in 2024, so perhaps their days of awkward run-ins are done. Either way, talk about drama.