Taraji P. Henson Clarifies That She Didn't Shade Ryan Seacrest on the Oscars Red Carpet

Ryan Seacrest had an awkward hosting experience at the 90th Annual Academy Awards, but it didn't get any more tense than when he interviewed Empire star Taraji P. Henson.

E! kept Seacrest as lead host of their red carpet proceedings, despite the host being dogged by sexual abuse accusations. Twitter didn't have very many kind words for Seacrest while he was on screen, but his interviews were relatively non-scathing until he talked to Henson.

"The universe has a way of taking care of the good people, you know what I mean?" Henson said during their interview, tapping Seacrest on the shoulder with what a lot of people read into as intentional shade. The tone had a lot of people questioning whether Henson was talking directly about Seacrest's allegations.

However, the next day Henson told People that her comments were "misconstrued" and that she "absolutely" supports Seacrest. "I did it to keep his chin up," she said. "It's an awkward position to be in. He's been cleared but anyone can say anything." E!'s internal investigation found "insufficient evidence to support the claims against Seacrest."

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To show her support on Sunday, Henson also ended the interview with the two friends sharing a hug and her promising to see Seacrest in New York.