Ryan Seacrest kicked off the new year with lots of affection from a fan. During the live airing of the annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the host, 49, announced the first Powerball millionaire winner of 2024 as five contestants joined him on stage.
Pamela Bradshaw of North Carolina was the lucky winner, and she couldn’t contain her excitement. Overcome with emotion, she fell to the ground before quickly jumping up to hug and kiss a stunned Seacrest multiple times on the head.
Naturally, fans on social media couldn’t get enough of the “funny” and “surprising” moment, heading to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts.
Ryan Seacrest Looks Stunned As Powerball Winner Hugs And Kisses Him Live On-Air In Viral Clip
“She almost took him out!” one fan wrote after watching the clip as another tweeted: “Ryan Seacrest announcing the Powerball millionaire and then getting absolutely dogpiled by the sheer excitement of the winner is so hilarious to me.” One other added: “Staying up to watch the new Powerball Millionaire damn near take out Ryan Seacrest was worth it.”
During the broadcast, Seacrest turned to Bradshaw and enthusiastically said: “Pamela, North Carolina, first time here in New York City and you’re walking away in the new year a millionaire!” She replied: “Thank you, God! I’m so blessed.”
The American Idol host then expressed gratitude to the other finalists who missed out on $1 million in front of the live audience. “For those of you on stage who are not millionaires, you, uh… got to see the ball drop?” Seacrest went on: “And Green Day is coming up, and Pamela may pass out.”
From Times Square in New York, Seacrest and co-host Rita Ora celebrated the new year with live reports from Jeannie Mai in Los Angeles and Dayanara Torres in Puerto Rico. The show was filled with memorable performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter, LL Cool J, Cardi B, Reneé Rapp, and NewJeans.
Seacrest sat down with Entertainment Weekly in 2022 and opened up about how meaningful it for to him to host the telecast each year. (He has graced our screens every New Year's Eve since 2006!) "I'm so grateful that I stepped into this role because it was a tradition for me growing up and my family," Seacrest dished to the outlet.
"The idea for us is just to create a big party for people who don't want to go anywhere, who want to just relax, be in their homes, be with their families… that's what Dick [Clark told me all along: 'We're talking to people who are at home, but we bring the excitement to them through our show.'"
Until next NYE in NYC!
