Former American Idol host Ryan Seacrest is reportedly not happy about Katy Perry’s huge salary

Seacrest, who hosted the show on Fox for 15 seasons, was set to MC the reboot until Perry — said to be getting $25 million ($A36 million) as an American Idol judge — bragged last week on radio station 103.5 KTU: “I’m really proud that, as a woman, I got paid. And you know why? I got paid, like, more than like pretty much any guy that’s been on that show, and by the way, I love men. So I’m a paid woman and I’m ready for a beautiful man.”

Sources say ABC initially offered Seacrest over $10 million ($A13.4 million).

“[He] was suddenly asking himself why he would come back for a 16th season at a salary [much smaller than that] of the newcomer judge,” Richard Rushfield, author of American Idol: The Untold Story, wrote in his e-mail newsletter, The Ankler.

Since Seacrest is already employed in New York at Live With Kelly & Ryan, and American Idol would require weekly cross-country trips to LA, he “has grown notably cooler on the prospect,” Rushfield reported.

An ABC spokesman told the New York Post : “We don’t comment on negotiations or salary.”

“Ryan isn’t pleased with the protracted negotiations,” a source familiar with the talks said. “But he is hopeful that a deal can be reached given his affection for the show.”

A network insider also added, “Perry is not getting $25 million.”

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and has been republished here with permission.