For one night only, Ryan Seacrest is abdicating his “American Idol” throne.
On Monday night’s episode, radio host Bobby Bones fills in for Seacrest, who is out sick. This is the first time Seacrest has missed a taping in the history of the show, a spokesperson for ABC, which airs “American Idol,” confirmed to TheWrap.
“Welcome to ‘American Idol.’ Now, I am not Ryan Seacrest — I am Bobby Bones,” Bones said in a preview. “Sadly, Ryan is sick, and I look most like him, so they asked me to fill his shoes tonight. Ryan, love you, buddy. Hope you get better.” You can watch the teaser below.
The episode was taped weeks ago, so it’s unclear what Seacrest was sick with at the time.
In exchange for the favor, Seacrest sent Bones a pair of sneakers for “filling his shoes” on “American Idol.” In a clip from Bones’ radio show posted to his Twitter account, Bones opened the gift and joked, “That’s like saying, ‘Hey, backup quarterback, we need you to jump in for Tom Brady real quick.’”
Seacrest has been the host of “American Idol” since it debuted in 2002, though for the singing competition’s first season he shared hosting duties with Brian Dunkleman .He is also the host of morning radio show “On Air With Ryan Seacrest,” and co-hosts “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
First time in the history of Idol that @ryanseacrest got sick . So here is the start of tonight’s show #americanidol pic.twitter.com/vP2ECNXb9h
— Bobby Bones (@mrBobbyBones) April 8, 2019