Give it up, Hollywood. Mail it in. Stick a fork in you. You’re done.

Why? One word, two syllables: Seacrest.

Yeah, Ryan Seacrest. The one who hosts ‘American Idol.’ You put him on your Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday. Kind of tarnishes the whole idea of the Walk of Fame, doesn’t it? What were you thinking?

Obviously, not much. But I’ll cut you some slack – your requirements aren’t exactly top-notch. All you need is a five-year career, a nomination and $15,000. (I’m not even kidding. Those are the parameters. Look it up.).

But Ryan Seacrest? Hasn’t his show barely been on for five years?

And here’s the kicker, Seacrest found a loophole.

He got nominated for his crowning achievements in radio. His whopping 15 years of radio genius. Of course, no one heard of him until ‘Idol’ rolled around, and we’ll just gloss over the fact that it wasn’t until this year that Seacrest got the nod to take over for Casey Kasem as the host of ‘American Top 40.’ Prior to that his resume gets a little shady.

Now, I’m not saying he isn’t good at what he does. Actually, I would say that, but it’s not the point. The point is he isn’t worthy.

How do you think Audrey Hepburn feels about this? How about Jimmy Stewart? The Beatles? Seacrest isn’t even close to being on their level. Granted, neither are Lassie or Godzilla but, let’s face it Hollywood, those two are at least icons. And they had staying power. Seacrest, he’s got highlights in his hair. How does that even compare?

In all honesty, it doesn’t. Clearly, the Walk of Fame isn’t what it used to be. Even Johnny Grant, the mayor of Hollywood admits that.

‘It’s a tourist attraction,’ Grant conceded on Wednesday on CNN, ‘not the Nobel peace prize.’

But Seacrest? Does he garner (Italics)any(Italics) tourists? His show ‘On Air with Ryan Seacrest,’ and the fact that it’s no longer on TV is a pretty a good indicator that he isn’t.

C’mon Hollywood, tell me this whole thing was a joke.

It’s not? Alright fine. That’s your call. But for your own sake, you probably should start saying it is.

PETE FREEDMAN IS A JUNIOR NEWSPAPER MAJOR. E-MAIL HIM AT [email protected].

Published on April 21, 2005 at 12:00 pm