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Brian Dunkleman Reveals He Didn’t Get Along With Ryan Seacrest On ‘American Idol,’ Says He Quit Before He Was Fired

By Victoria Miller

From the archive: published Apr 8, 2016, 10 years ago. Details may have changed since.

Brian Dunkleman made a return to American Idol for the show’s season 15 finale, and he says the experience was “cathartic.” Dunkleman, who worked as a co-host alongside Ryan Seacrest on the first season of the long-running reality singing competition, told People that he was happy to be asked back for the finale after his ill-fated run on the show back in 2002. Brian even revealed that he “pretty much wrote” all that was said when he and Seacrest reunited on camera for the first time in 14 years.

“I definitely was hoping that they would ask and they contacted me about a month and a half ago…I’m very glad that they asked. It’s been a very, very cathartic evening for me.”

While Brian Dunkleman has long been an American Idol punch line due to the fact that he quit the dream gig before it became a smash hit, he now says he was just being proactive.

“I think I beat them to the punch and I didn’t know. I left the show but from what I gather they weren’t going to have me back anyway. So it’s kind of a big load off my shoulders. I guess I didn’t make a mistake.”

Brian admitted that he didn’t do a great job as co-host during Idol’s inaugural season, and he points to immaturity as part of the reason, despite the fact that he was 30 years old at the time.

“I didn’t do a good enough job and I don’t think I handled myself as professionally as I needed to back then. In retrospect, I really just didn’t have the wisdom I needed to handle what was going on. I like to say I was just young and stupid, but I really wasn’t that young. I was 30 years old.”

Dunkleman also said that, before returning for the series finale, he had not kept in touch with Seacrest at all since his exit from the show in 2002, and for a good reason: the duo didn’t get along. But Brian admitted he paid his former co-worker a visit before they rehearsed for the finale so he could clear the air with him.

“I wanted to see him before rehearsal in his dressing room. I walked in and he said hello and we shook hands. I said, ‘I have to get this out: I want to apologize to you for all the times we didn’t get along back then.’ I told him that I wished I could go back and change that but I can’t. I wished him only the best for him and his family. It was a really great moment and he was so gracious.”

While Dunkleman was initially “bitter” over American Idol’s successful run, he now admits the show really only needed one host, and Seacrest was the man for the job.

“The show does work better with one host. It’s a tremendous amount of pressure and I didn’t handle it very well. It’s a testament to how great a job [Ryan] does to have done 14 seasons. It’s incredibly gracious of him to include me tonight. It was a great gift.”

Dunkleman’s kind comments come after he made a few snarky jabs about the Fox singing competition over the years. Last spring, when it was first announced that American Idol would be ending for good after its 15 th season, Brian tweeted that he knew the show would never last.

While Dunkleman poked fun at himself with that joke, in 2010, Brian didn’t think Seacrest’s on-air joke about him was funny. During a season 9 episode , Seacrest “joked” that Brian Dunkleman would be returning for the Idol Give’s Back episode. The crowd cheered, but then became silent after Ryan said he was just joking.

Dunkleman told TV.com that jokes were never Ryan’s strong suit, and he even called out his former co-star for using his name to get attention.

“It was a joke. Well, it was an attempt at a joke. But unfortunately for Ryan, instead of a laugh, he got applause. That’s never really been his strong suit. The timing doesn’t surprise me. Dancing with the Stars has replaced Idol as the No. 1 show for, what, the last two weeks? I’m sure that’s sending Seacrest into a panic. It’s not surprising that he would act crazy to get attention, or throw my name out there — he’s done things like this before.”

As for what Brian Dunkleman has been up to since his Idol exit, in an essay for Variety, he wrote that he wanted to pursue an acting career, and he figured he had “the best shot of accomplishing that” on the heels of his Idol stint.

But 14 years later, Brian has a few regrets about his impromptu exit.

“Do I regret not remaining on the show now that it’s coming to an end? Yes. Especially when I open my bank statements. But without the benefit of hindsight, I would have done the exact same thing. All I know for sure is that I was a part of history…Regardless of how history judges me, nobody can ever take that away from me. And as far as that acting career? Well, I ain’t dead yet.”

Take a look at the video below to see Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest’s American Idol reunion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ONbq_VgXDw

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