INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Ryan Seacrest Leaving Post As ‘American Idol’ Host? Not Over His Paycheck, He Wants More Than That

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 22:23 PST, Jun 22, 2017

Is Ryan Seacrest leaving his post as American Idol host because of the large discrepancy between his paycheck and that of Katy Perry’s? Apparently not, as TMZ confirms Seacrest has already agreed to work with Fremantle Media and Core Media despite his misgivings with the salary offered him — which is reportedly a little over $10 million (compared to Perry’s $25 million paycheck).

While Seacrest has already capitulated to the unsavory offer, the long-time American Idol host has raised another demand, this time asking that his “Host” title in the ABC show’s credits be changed to “Executive Producer.”

Sources at Fremantle and Core reportedly told TMZ that Seacrest made the demand more than a week ago, but Fremantle to this day is yet to grant it. So there’s no doubt that at this point there’s still tension between the Seacrest camp and the show’s producers.

That said, it’s not clear whether Ryan Seacrest wants additional responsibilities on top of hosting American Idol. He’s already busy as it is. For one, his show Live with Kelly and Ryan is being taped in New York, which means that his hosting duties for Idol require him to fly back and forth to Los Angeles to accommodate both jobs. And for $10 million, it’s not farfetched to think that the executive producer of Keeping Up With the Kardashians may quit Idol altogether once he has decided it’s not worth the trouble, which is even more likely if the show’s producers refuse to give in to his new demand.

As such, the budget for Idol’s reboot is running tight at the moment. Katy Perry signing a deal to be one of American Idol’s judges has made her the highest-paid female judge in the history of the show. With Seacrest already signed on to host the show for a little over $10 million, the show’s producers are left with a meager budget, leaving them no choice but to scrimp on their offerings to the show’s eventual second and third judges.

As to who will be joining Perry on the judges’ panel, the Inquisitr has previously reported that the show’s producers are interested in signing up Lionel Richie for $5 million. If Richie accepts the offer, it’d be a huge boon to the producers on account of the meager paycheck they’re offering the “Easy” singer.

Do you think Ryan Seacrest is being reasonable with his new demands to American Idol‘s producers? How excited are you for Idol‘s reboot in 2018? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]

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