RYAN Seacrest’s ex-American Idol cohost, Brian Dunkleman, claimed the pair nearly got into a fistfight after the star “tried to screw him up on live TV,” The Sun can reveal.
The standup comedian infamously hosted the singing competition show during its first year but was dropped after only the first season – which many people said “destroyed” his career.
During an in-depth chat with Behind The Velvet Rope podcast host David Yontef, which was exclusively obtained by The Sun, Brian, 50, opened up about his experience alongside Ryan, 46.
The comic emphasized how much tension the duo had, which he alleged during one show taping escalated so much it nearly became violent.
Brian claimed: ”At one point, I just looked at [Ryan] and he said, ‘say something Dunk.’ And I said, ‘what do you want me to say, Ryan?’
“He said ‘how about we’ll be right back with more American Idol. Cut. Are you going to say one f**king thing that’s on the teleprompter tonight?’
“When that show ended, my manager and my best friend who was there to pick me up… they had to hold me back from going after him.”
He continued to explain how intense the situation was, claiming: “They threw me in an elevator just to get me away from him and away from everybody.
“Look, how would you feel if somebody who’s intentionally trying to f**k you up and make it look like you’re screwing up on live television. So why? Why?”
Later on in the interview, Brian continued to slam his former cohost for doing “weird s**t” in order to “get attention” on set.
“[Ryan] started to just do really weird s**t. There was one show, we walk out, he just started running full speed and he just jumped.
“He leaped off the stage. He almost landed on the judges table. And I was like, ‘what is he doing?’ He just kept doing stupid stuff like that.
“Anything he could do to draw focus and attention. It was really weird. That started very, very early.”
A rep for Ryan did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
Standing on stage next to Ryan, the New York native hosted season one of American Idol – which famously crowned superstar Kelly Clarkson as its winner.
Following the first season which included animosity with the Live With Kelly and Ryan host, Brian claimed he “resigned” from the high-profile gig.
However, it has been widely reported at the time that if he had not quit, Brian allegedly would have been “fired.”
The move was labeled as a “career killer” and Brian never fully made it back into Hollywood or the public’s good graces.
In 2019, it was reported by TMZ that Brian had become an Uber driver after struggling to make an income with comedy.
According to the outlet, he started that job in 2016 and worked for about 45 hours a week while earning around $800 per week from driving.
However, Brian quickly responded to the story and explained further his reason for switching jobs.
“I chose to stop doing standup comedy and started driving an Uber so I could be there for my son as much as he needed after our life as we knew it was destroyed. Print that,” he tweeted in January 2019.
He quipped in a follow up Tweet regarding the site’s “job shaming”: “And I make over a grand on a good week motherf***ers!”
Previously, Brian admitted he had “regrets” over his quick departure from the legendary franchise.
“Of course, when it comes to the financial aspect, of course there are regrets. I wouldn’t be human if I said I had no regrets,” he told CNN in 2016.
While it’s unclear what Brian’s current net worth is, Ryan is estimated to be worth a staggering $450 MILLION.
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