Dancing with the Stars for casting former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. This comes shortly after his co-star Karamo Brown ed the decision.
A lot of people were surprised and disappointed when the cast list for the season of Dancing with the Stars was revealed and included Spicer. The former White House press secretary has been a divisive figure in American politics, and while that characteristic would make it very difficult for a normal person to ever work again, that hasn't been the case for Spicer. His behavior has landed him a starring role on an ABC dancing competition. None of the other stars in the cast - which includes former Bachelorette Hannah Brown and Queer Eye's Karamo Brown - have spoken out about the controversial decision to cast Spicer. Karamo has in fact done the opposite, and shown his for the former politician. But the rest of the Queer Eye cast doesn't agree.
In a now-deleted tweet thread (via: Us Weekly), Berk wrote that the producers of Dancing with the Stars were "planting political land mines" on the show and expressed sympathy for the other contestants who have to compete alongside him. He then said he was "saddened" by what his co-star Karamo has to deal with after the Queer Eye star faced backlash for calling Spicer a "good guy." Berk explained that Karamo and the rest of the stars have been trained to not say anything impolite about other co-stars in interviews. He defended Karamo, blaming his reaction to Spicer's casting on "media training."
Berk continued, saying that things were "too political" as it is, that hosts has shown any concern. Meanwhile, Spicer is defending himself, saying the show is just "an opportunity to have some fun" and that he doesn't care what people think.
The ratings of Dancing with the Stars - which premiered in 2005 - have been steadily declining over the years, so a lot of people assume this is ABC's desperate grab for press and viewership. So far, they've gotten the press they were aiming for. Once Season 28 premieres, viewers will have to decide if they want to tune in or not, despite the controversial casting.
Season 28 of Dancing with the Stars premieres September 16 at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Us Weekly