Ryan Seacrest managed to have a pretty crappy Oscars, even without a Taraji P. Henson curse

Ryan Seacrest may have managed to avoid a hex at the hands of Proud Mary star Taraji P. Henson, but that still doesn’t mean he had a very good Oscars night. Magically-assisted or not, the American Idol host saw ratings for his red-carpet pre-show interviews tank this year, dropping 43 percent from his 2017 numbers.

Admittedly, the Oscars in general took a pretty nasty ratings hit in 2018, clocking a 19 percent drop in viewership. Still, Seacrest’s personal numbers dropped even more, suggesting there’s at least a decent chunk of red carpet fans who didn’t feel up to watching him awkwardly gab with a carefully curated collection of celebrities, all of whom had promised to play “nice” around the recent accusations of sexual harassment and assault against him from former stylist Suzie Hardy.

You don’t have to worry too much about ol’ Ryan, though; per Variety, his ratings for the following day’s Live With Kelly And Ryan were the highest they’ve been since he joined the series last May, suggesting that viewers are still comfortable receiving their daily Seacrest in a more-controlled, less wizardry-prone environment.