You can listen to the Ryan Seacrest here interview here.
- Ryan mentions that Michael was way taller than him on stage. Hm.
- He apologized to Michael about leading him to believe he might be safe right before he cut him. Ryan says, “Nigel, he concocts all these scenes…the note was ‘refer back to last year, get them thinking they may be staying another week, and then let them know they are gone’.”
- Ryan was surprised and bummed that Michael was leaving, because they’d chat off stage.
- Ryan says that Simon and Randy both liked Michael personally. They were all really excited to put him through when he auditioned. Ryan promises to play his first single on KISS when it’s released.
I guess that’s one concotion that didn’t go over well with the general public. It was just all kinds of cruel.
I always forget that Ryan is only a few years older than most of the contestants (4 years older than Johns), so I believe the friendship was genuine.
However, that was mean. There’s no other way to say it. So….if he didn’t do the elimination that way, he would be fired?
I kind of don’t like Nigel. He thrives on controversy. How much say does he have concerning the goings-on of this show? Knowing how cruel it was, I can’t see reason in why Ryan would do it, either. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Nigel is one of the executive producers, so, yeah, he has lots of say on the show.
I never really thought Ryan was behind the cruel joke on elimination night. I was ready to point fingers at someone else. Not surprised in th least that it was Nigel’s doing at all. He lives for that kind of stuff. I never really think of Ryan as mean spirited guy. A guy who will bend over backwards for his job, yes. The ongoing jabs he takes at Simon and vice versa are obviously just for entertainment value(which I find none in), but I highly doubt Ryan would ever say those things about Simon if someone wasn’t listening. Personally I’m sure they have a nice relationship. I suppose in the long run even if Nigel suggested Ryan do it, he could maybe have said it a little more tastefully, but that wouldn’t be the drama that Nigel wanted. Ryan probably knows that. And as we know, what Nigel wants, Nigel gets.
I’m not a fan of Nigel, never have been, and things like this just bring him down even more.
Aww Ryan, I never blamed him. I think if it had been one of the more fragile girls (Brooke, Carly) he wouldn’t have done it but he probably figured Michael could take it.
Yeah, Nigel is their boss and he always has tons of great ideas for the show!!!groupsings!!!moshpit!!!!!
I never blamed Ryan either. I knew that it was just him reading and saying exactly what they told him to. It’s Nigel that’s the brain behind all of it, obviously. I can totally tell from listening to that interview that the friendship that was formed between Ryan and MJ is real and true and he’ll be missed on set. :(
LOL, so true. Also, the idea to have specific times where the pit sways and claps. Brilliant.
Well Ryan has to take some responsibility. Just because you are told to say somethng you know is wrong, in no way totally justifies it. Someone had to say how inappropriate that boot was any week, let alone Idol gives back week.
There was a vein of cruelty through all of Ryan’s posturings Thursday night. Trying to make light of Jason’s recently purchased ukelele was another example. Did Nigel make Ryan act like an arrogant prick during that exchange?
Nigel orchestrates these things? What a shock. I don’t blame Ryan for this at all. He’s not calling the shots.
J.S.G., I do agree that there is sometimes a weird cruel streak running through what is supposed to be a nice, family show, and it’s usually done through Ryan. Which is why I think it’s actually coming from tptb themselves (since Ryan’s the only one who’s scripted.)
FWIW Ryan does try to stand up for the contestant sometimes like when Simon gives a strange critique, and the contestants seem to like him, so I give him the benefit of a doubt.
Nigel confirming once again tha he is an a**.
Poor Ryan. All this time I’ve been thinking HE was the mean one, when in fact, someone else made him say it. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true most of the time when he says something mean, cause actually, Ryan can be quite nice and helpful to the contestants.
nigel’s a squirrely little p*ick — just trying to make for good tv while kicking these performers in the nads.
Nice nigel. Nice way to show the kids (like my 13 years old) how to act to someone in a stressful situation. No wonder the world’s getting ruder by the minute.
sorry, off my soapbox now.
Maybe the note Nigel gave to Ryan had a picture of Brian Dunkelman taped to it!
Well, it’s not like Ryan couldn’t afford to actually lose a job. Heaven knows he has enough. Hehehehe. And, Brian Dunkleman could probably use one….although, I probably wouldn’t watch this show with another host.
I always figured it was Nigel’s doing but Ryan still annoyed me because it came out of his mouth. I wonder if there will be any mention on the show tomorrow? It sounds like Michael was well liked by all.
Before we start feeling too sorry for Ryan, let’s remember that:
1. This isn’t the first time Ryan has delivered bad news to a contestant in a cold or cruel manner (see Daughtry, Chris, et al).
2. This isn’t the first time Ryan has played mind games with a contestant. In seasons 3 through 6, he put a horrified contestant in the awful position of having to choose one group of three over another on top 7 night (see Huff, George; Bice, Bo; Hicks, Taylor; and Doolittle, Melinda). How he handles this week’s top 7 elimination will be a good indication of how truly sorry he is.
3. Ryan regularly shills for the show’s TCO. Does the phrase “Have we saved the best for last?” ring any bells?
4. Ryan is given a lot of latitude to improvise, as he admitted in his apology, and he is a producer in his own right, although not an AI producer. Does anyone really believe that, if Ryan objected to Nigel’s instructions, he couldn’t persuade Nigel to reconsider? But Ryan didn’t claim that he objected or voiced any objections to Nigel, did he? There is no evidence that Ryan had any problem with Nigel’s tactics until they backfired.
I guess I’m alone, but I just don’t see it as that big of a deal. I mean, this show is KNOWN for blatant manipulation and after seven seasons, how could we expect anything else?
There was no WAY they would have a results show and not send someone home. Nigel confirmed it in that interview where he pretty much gave away the results, saying that the person with the least amounts of votes last year (I’m guessing Lakisha) got a free ride by making up for the votes the following week. So, they were definitely sending someone home.
Ryan would not announce who got the least amount of votes if they weren’t sending someone home. It’s hard for me to think that MJohns or anyone else was fooled bye this stupid so-called twist.
Besides, it happened after the votes were counted. It’s not like they were influencing the votes by a bad edit or something.
ETA: Nigel is rubbing his grubby little hands together b/c everyone is so upset.
Fear not pj…you are not alone. I agree with everything you said.
Nothing on the show surprises me any more.
Oh, and the big bad world of entertainment is WAY more cruel than Ryan was. Just sayin’.
It may not be that big of a deal but I will say that it made a bad moment more painful in the interest of fooling the audience. I had a flicker of hope that it wasn’t really happening and you could see that Michael did too. I can’t imagine what would happen if he did it with Brooke.
OMG, Brooke would’ve had a meltdown.
Seriously, for the 10 seconds of pain, MJ reaps the rewards of having everyone upset and a great buzz as he leaves the show. The fact that everyone’s talking about how cruel they were actually serves him well in the long run.
/cynic off
LOL
Six years of shock, fake-out eliminations and people are getting pissed when Michael Johns gets the boot? WTF?
Ryan has two choices — he can be Nigel’s lapdog and take the heat while banking that check or he can say, No, I don’t want to be a part of that.
Ryan apparently has chosen the check.
Ryan has picked up on what Michael was saying and told Terri on Extra that he gave Michael a look as if to say I’m sorry before he said it.
I think some people are mad/shocked that Michael got eliminated and this just made it worse, Tony. PJ, you’re right that in the long run all of this helps Michael. I’m more annoyed for me, lol.
So, who do you think will have to make the choice between the “safe group” and the “bottom 3 group” on this week’s results show?
David A? David C? Someone else.
I’m thinking David A.
Yikes. If David A is put on the spot to pick, they’ll have to peel him off the floor. Gasp !
I think it’s usually a front-runner. I know Bo and Taylor were the unlucky ones. Last year, wasn’t it Melinda?