throw it down, dunklemen!! me thinks american idol host ryan seacrest is starting to lose his coveted popularity votes – and in large numbers!

the over-eccentric host has been drawing awkward attention to himself the past few weeks, in the form of horrible jokes, dancing with unwilling strangers and overall, just making everyone feel generally uncomfortable. but nothing tops this!

back in season one, seacrest had a co-host – i know, hard to believe he would actually share the spotlight. brian dunklemen left idol after that season (bad move, buddy!) and has been the butt of lots of jokes because of it.

this past wednesday night, seacrest spat out that dunklemen would be returning to host idol gives back next week, to which the crowd applauded, then fell eerily silent after seacrest said it was a joke. GOOD JOKE RYAN!!

mr. dunklemen recently spoke with tv.com about the incident… and oh yeah it’s gettin’ heated!

“well, it was an attempt at a joke. but unfortunately for ryan, instead of a laugh, he got applause. that’s never really been his strong suit. but it was a joke, and whether it was mean-spirited or not is irrelevant. a joke’s a joke; you can either take it or you can’t.”

of ryan’s other strange behavior dunkleman says,

“the timing doesn’t surprise me. dancing with the stars has replaced idol as the no. 1 show for, what, the last two weeks? i’m sure that’s sending seacrest into a panic. it’s not surprising that he would act crazy to get attention, or throw my name out there — he’s done things like this before.”

cat fight! how long ’til seacrest responds? i give it 3, 2, 1…