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'That was just evil': 'American Idol' fans slam Ryan Seacrest for pulling 'nasty' fake-outs on contestants

'Ryan really needs to leave the show. He's been so off today and yesterday, he just seems done,' said an 'American Idol' fan

BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Fans of 'American Idol' have demanded that Ryan Seacrest should resign after being accused of shading contestants. During the April 24 episode, the 'Live With Kelly and Ryan' host was entrusted with informing contestants whether they made it into the top 12 or not, and some thought he was "nasty" in doing so.

Ryan revealed his remarkable physical makeover in new images taken on the set of 'American Idol'. On April 23, the TV personality resorted to Instagram to offer some amusing backstage images. He was photographed wearing a lengthy, red wig with a mustache and beard. In one shot, he rubbed his false facial hair while peering into the camera's lens. In the photos that followed, he appeared more at ease with the transformation, wearing it with a grey suit. Ryan captioned the photo, "It’s growing on me. West Coast, tune in to #AmericanIdol now!" Less than a day after, Ryan's comments seem to have grown on the viewers, but not in a good way.

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'He just seems done'

Ryan made it clear early in the episode that he was not going to sugarcoat anything for 'American Idol' contestants. "You sang lose you to love me," he informed one contender. "We might lose you tonight," several viewers thought, was particularly "harsh."

Viewers on Reddit posted their views in real-time, with many focusing on Ryan's behavior. One commenter said, "'We might lose you tonight' was so nasty omg." Someone else said, "Ryan not softening any blows lmao. These announcements Ryan's giving have me weak," a third viewer said. "Ryan really needs to leave the show. He's been so off today and yesterday, he just seems done." Another added, "RYAN THAT WAS JUST EVIL WTF."

The reactions on Twitter were similar. One wrote, "ryan honey you gotta fix your wording of these announcements 'cause it's messing with people's heads." One quipped, "You sang lose you to love me… we might lose you tonight” Now why is Ryan like this." One wrote, "Ryan being a terror to some of these contestants that didn’t make top 12 with fake outs." One said, "Ryan is doing a terrible job delivering this news."

'American Idol' fans angry over show's 3-hour runtime

The outrage came just one day after viewers chastised the show for broadcasting an "unbearably long" episode on Sunday. The competition was reduced from 26 to 20 vocalists throughout the three-hour television show, and viewers "couldn't even vote for their favorites until the end."

Three live performances were given, including previous winners HunterGirl and Noah Thompson, as well as Smokey Robinson. Only six players were eliminated throughout the event, which lasted from 8 pm to 11 pm EST. The last 20 singers were scheduled to compete on Monday's episode, with some performing for the chance to stay in the competition.

The public will vote on 10 of the finalists, while the judges will decide on the other two. Because so much of the program was fluff, viewers barely made it to the point where they could vote for the top 12 and had to keep track of whom they liked rather than voting as it aired.

'American Idol' Season 21 airs every Sunday and Monday at 8 pm ET on ABC.

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