In 2008, Simon Cowell was asked by journalists if Seacrest was gay. He first responded by asking the reporters to reaffirm the person's identity, and upon knowing it to be Seacrest, Cowell joked and called him to be "happy."
Another incident involving Cowell and Seacrest, which dates back to October 2015, fueled the ongoing gay rumors. During the airing of one of American Idol episodes, Cowell joked again and asked Seacrest to "come out of the closet."
However, it wasn't the first time on the set of Idol that the two exchanged gay references, with the previous incident dating back to 2003.
