More like Ryan Sea-give-it-a-rest, am I right?
Everyone remembers precisely where they were the first time they saw the video of Ryan Seacrest trying to high five a blind man.
Personally, it was during my first year at University. A classmate was likening an awkward situation to “that time Ryan Seacrest absolutely fucked it with that blind lad”. Confused, I asked for more information.
At that point, the video was played and my life changed forever. That was the day I achieved spiritual enlightenment with the aid of a twenty-five second video of utter perfection.
On 13th January 2009, an episode of American Idol aired on FOX, during which Ryan Seacrest goes in for a high five with a blind man. At that exact moment, the world changed forever.
Let’s break things down into a scene-by-scene analysis because truly I have nothing better to do with my time.
Act I, Scene I – Victory
A blind man named Scott (pictured on the right hand side, just left of Beyoncé) finds out that all four judges have put him through to the next round of American Idol. He’s just performed a stunning rendition of ‘And So It Goes’ by Billy Joel, so spirits and emotions are running high. Simon Cowell flashes his trademark congratulatory smile and Scott gives the judges his heartfelt thanks. He’s congratulated by his buddy and they have a quick celebratory hug. It’s important to note that American Idol was quite a big deal back in 2009. Think of it being as good as X Factor during its peak, so probably the year One Direction were robbed of victory by Matt Cardle.
Act I, Scene II – Suspense
Scott’s nearest and dearest are eagerly awaiting the big reveal of his American Idol fate. They’re in a hallway, arranged in what can only be described as A Nolan Sister Formation. They’re visibly anxious. What if Scott doesn’t get through? What if he does get through, wins the competition and achieves instant worldwide fame, will they ever see him again? What if the presenter of the show makes an absolute tit of himself, forgetting that Scott is blind and going in for a very visual act such as a high five? They’re understandably worried, but at least they’re smiling. ‘This footage will hardly rack up millions of views online’, they’re surely thinking.
Act II, Scene I – The Arrival
Scott has made it safely to the double doors behind which Ryan Seacrest is leering. God forbid Seacrest would’ve helped the guy out by opening the second door, or even the first door to begin with. He’s far too busy looking upset that he’s meeting a member of the public and they aren’t reacting in any way to his overwhelmingly famous self. Perhaps this is because Scott is visually impaired, but we can’t be sure. Ryan’s body language suggests that he’s relaxed, but his neck bent forward shows that he’s ready and able to participate in a heated exchange, if needs be.
Act II, Scene II – The Interview
Although the video is edited, we can tell that Ryan and Scott are nearing the end of their interaction. Scott says “We’ll see where it goes, I’m pumped”. Ryan is visibly restraining himself from making a quip about a blind person saying “We’ll see”, so we have to respect him as a broadcaster for doing that. At the end of the day, up until this exact point, the world considered Ryan Seacrest to be a professional. He was on top of the world, flying high reaching the dizzying heights of fame. Until the events that followed.
Act II, Scene III – The Trigger
To give Seacrest a fighting chance here, we need to examine what exactly led to him attempting to high five a blind man. Scott says “I’m pumped”, to which a rapturous applause from his loved ones breaks out. There’s a feeling of hijinks in the air, everyone is in giddy spirits. They’re all clapping and whooping with glee. They’re proud of Scott, as they rightly should be. Ryan is feeling the moment, he’s clapping and smiling, even replying to Scott’s declaration of being ‘pumped’ with “As you should be”. Ryan Seacrest is completely in the moment and sharing Scott’s joy with him. Everyone is having an excellent time. For now.
Scene III, Act I – The High Five Instigation
Bearing in mind what we’ve seen up until this point, Ryan Seacrest has gauged the situation and taken it upon himself to instigate a high five with a blind man. Scott has two degrees of tunnel vision and has described his sight as being “kind of like looking through a straw”. Although he may have been making eye contact with Ryan during their conversation, he can’t have been able to see much, and he certainly doesn’t possess the necessary periphery vision to spot a high five instigating arm coming towards him.
Scott is oblivious to what’s unfolding. He’s looking through a straw, so can probably see part of Ryan Seacrest’s dazzling smile and very little else. He’s not expecting a professional and experienced television presenter to try to engage in a high five with him, that would be like trying to play fetch with a butternut squash. Scott has just gotten through to the next stage of American Idol. His dreams are about to come true. He is a completely innocent victim here. Seacrest has either had a momentary lapse in concentration or he is trying out a very niche and slightly offensive brand of physical comedy.
Scene IV, Act I – The Recovery
I didn’t expect to be saying this, but all credit to Ryan Seacrest. His recovery method from this deeply embarrassing situation is exceptional. After very quickly realising the mammoth blunder he’s just landed himself in, Ryan goes into damage control in the blink of an eye. He verbally acknowledges his mistake, stating “Well, I’m giving you a high five”. Those seven words save Seacrest, in my opinion. He had two choices here, he could’ve quickly retracted his arm in the hope that nobody would notice or he could persevere with the act.
Nevertheless, Seacrest persisted. He made Scott aware of what was happening, then lowered his hand to his. It’s a simple gesture but one that deserves commendation. Put yourself in Ryan Seacrest’s shoes in that exact situation. Sure, most of us wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to high five a blind guy, but suppose you did. How would you react in the split second that you realise the error of your ways? Admittedly, I’m not so sure I would’ve rectified things as quickly as Seacrest. I probably would’ve turned to the guy behind Scott and high fived him instead. Scott would’ve been none the wiser and at least I would’ve had some human contact to comfort myself after such an embarrassment.
Act IV, Scene II – The Reconciliation
Scott feels the gentle tug on his hand from Seacrest and he goes with it. His hand is occupied carrying a sheet of paper that is presumably meaningless. The judges hardly give the successful American Idol applicants a ticket to Hollywood there and then. I assume it’s just a prop, but Scott takes care swapping hands with it. Finally, his right hand is free to high five Ryan Seacrest, blissfully unaware of what has transpired mere moments ago. Scott is blind both in the literal sense and in this high five situation. He doesn’t know that Ryan Seacrest just tried to high five him without warning. Would he still participate in the second high five attempt if he knew what had just happened? That’s not for me to say, but I’m inclined to believe that he would have.
Act V, Scene I – The Aftermath
Still suffering a small amount PTSD from the events that have just transpired, Seacrest is visibly shaken. Regardless, he continues the interaction with Scott because, as the saying goes, it’s not over until the blind guy sings. He says “Congratulations, there it is” as they eventually secure a high five, then follows it up with “…and we will see you in Hollywood, California”. At this point, it’s clear that Ryan would typically go for a handshake to end the interaction, but he’s learned from his mistakes. He firmly clasps his hands together so as to prevent them from instinctively attempting to carry out their duties like before. Seacrest is no longer than man he was ten seconds ago. He’s learning.
Act V, Scene II – The Conclusion
Ryan is figuratively and literally blindsided by Scott in this final scene. Scott takes the auditory cue that things are wrapping up and extends his hand out to shake Ryan’s. Ryan is in awe. He’s just clasped his hands in shame at his earlier blunder, but now Scott is leading the way. Seacrest’s facial expression speaks a thousand words, all of them ‘What the fuck?’, as he’s visibly learning from Scott. You can practically hear his thought process, and it’s something along the lines of ‘Wait, so if I’m interviewing a blind person, I should let them lead the physical aspects of communication?’.
In the space of twenty-five seconds, we see Ryan Seacrest going from a decent presenter to a potentially world class one. He fucked up, he repented, and most importantly, he learned. I’m confident that today, over nine years on from the incident, Ryan is glad that it happened. It’s made him the person that he is today and the competent television presenter that he will one day turn into. Ronan Keating was right, life truly is a roller coaster.
Images via YouTube
