Sean Spicer Responds to DWTS Backlash, Hopes to Bring People Together

GOOD MORNING AMERICA – 8/21/19 – (Walt Disney Television/Lou Rocco) – SEAN SPICER

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter former Trump Press Secretary and current Dancing with the Stars contestant, Sean Spicer, addressed the controversy over his casting alongside Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, Hannah Brown and more. Host Tom Bergeron expressed his displeasure over the casting shortly after Wednesday’s GMA cast reveal.

“I hope it will be a politics-free zone,” Spicer told THR. “My hope is that at the end of the season, Tom looks back on this and realizes what a great example it was of being able to bring people of really diverse backgrounds together to have fun with each other, engage in a real civil and respectful way and maybe show millions of Americans how we can get back to that kind of interaction.”

DWTS brass have been asking Spicer to join the show ever since he left the White House in 2017. 

“I’ve got two business that have gotten off the ground successfully, and timing-wise, it was a great opportunity to do something completely different that I thought would be really fun,” he said.

Spicer met with his fellow contestants Tuesday night prior to the GMA reveal, and apparently it went well. Or so Spicer says.  “I was really impressed with the caliber of people, but on a personal level, they were just really nice, good people, to a person.”

DWTS contestant Karamo Brown got some blowback from his LGBTQ friendly fans, who thought the Queer Eye star should have confronted the network over the casting. He tweeted Wednesday night, “I’m a big believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle, you can learn about each other and help each other both grow.”

According to THR, thinks his casting can teach viewers a valuable lesson. He hopes they will see the cast enjoying one another despite the ideological differences they may have. “From a cast standpoint, and the pros, we all seemed to hit it off. The criticism wasn’t coming from the cast or the pros — obviously Tom had his opinion — but it’s from the outside. Put it this way: Let’s talk again in November, but not only is it possible, I think it will happen.”

ABC didn’t address the controversy other than a statement from DWTS executive producer Andrew Llinares: “We’ve got a great and diverse cast. We are excited about the season.”

The problem here isn’t ideological. Spicer is a divisive character because he told blatant lies for the Trump administration. His blatant, obvious lies covered for Trump’s controversial agenda, including his arguably racist Muslim ban. He covered for Trump to the point of making some truly heinous and patently false remarks. The folks complaining find it gross that ABC would help Spicer “rehabilitate” his execrable behavior while in the Trump administration.  It’s likely Spicer finally said yes to DWTS because he can’t get a job on TV anywhere else. Even FOX won’t have him. He’s damaged goods right now, and for good reason.

For his part, Tom Bergeron didn’t care about Spicer’s party affiliation. He just DID NOT WANT today’s ugly politics to intrude on a TV show that should be a fun escape from reality. 

Tom said in his twitter statement, “I offered suggestions for Season 28. Chief among them was my hope that DWTS, in its return following an unprecedented year long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations. I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement.” It was doubly annoying to Tom that the producer he spoke with assured him the cast would be controversy free.

Like most of the Republican dudes cast on DWtS (Rick Perry, Tucker Carlson), Spicer probably won’t make it past week two. So, there is that. 

 

About mj santilli 34837 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!