American Idol's Ryan Seacrest gets brutally mocked by Kelly Clarkson over his appearance in new interview
James Austin
Published Sep 21, 2026
RYAN Seacrest has been brutally mocked by Kelly Clarkson over his hair in a throwback photo.
The presenter cringed as Kelly trolled his blonde highlights in a snap he shared from when he was 22.
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Kelly, 41, ripped into Ryan, 48, when he appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show in an upcoming episode due to air on Friday.
In a teaser from the interview, she told the American Idol host: "To celebrate Idol turning 21 you posted this photo of your 21st birthday."
A photo then flashed up of a 21-year-old Ryan grinning at the camera while showing off his frosted blonde highlights.
Kelly grinned and said mockingly: "Look at those highlights..."
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Ryan tried to explain the highlighting process he went through at the hairdresser.
"You go and you sit with foils..." he said while demonstrating it with his hands.
Gesturing to her own blonde hair, Kelly interrupted sarcastically: "I don't know what you're talking about, this is all natural!"
Kelly's teasing comes just days after Ryan found himself in the firing line with his American Idol co-star, Lionel Richie.
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The 73-year-old claimed on Wednesday that show producers were giving Ryan preferential treatment.
Lionel posed outside his trailer with the bike Ryan has on the set of American Idol - despite the stage being just 20 feet away.
"The stage is only 20ft away, and @ryanseacrest has a bike!! Production - I need a bike too!!" he captioned the post.
Ryan immediately jumped in to explain the ride by making a joke about his height.
"Listen, 20ft is far for short legs," the radio personality wrote in the comments.
HITTING BACK
Last week, Ryan threw shade at the producers when responding to fan feedback about his singing chops.
Someone asked him about his role on the show and why he never sings.
Ryan has been the host of the singing competition for 21 seasons now and his duties include announcing the results, introducing the show, closing it, and comforting contestants.
He posted a video to his Instagram right before the live show was about to start.
It featured Ryan driving in the car, listening to One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful, and trying to sing the correct lyrics.
"I can't remember the words, but I like this song," the host said as he bobbed his head and murmured the words.
Ryan captioned the post: "On the way to our first live #Idol show. And don’t let some forgotten lyrics fool you, I love this song."
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One fan remarked: "Ryan… you should sing on Idol."
The former talk show host subtly threw the producers under the bus by replying: "Just waiting for them to ask."
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