Drama in and out of the ballroom! Since its debut, Dancing with the Stars has made headlines, sometimes for its casting lift.
One of ABC’s most controversial decisions came before season 28 in the summer of 2019 when Sean Spicer was announced as part of the cast. At the time, many celebrities reacted to the news about the former White House press secretary, including the then host. Tom Bergeron .
“A few months ago, over lunch with the new DWTS executive producer, I offered suggestions for season 28,” the former America’s Funniest Home Videos host tweeted at the time. Chief among them was my hope that DWTS, on its return from an unprecedented yearlong hiatus, would be a joyous respite from our exhausting political climate and free of the inevitably divisive reservations of ANY party affiliation. I left that lunch convinced that we agreed. Subsequently (and quite obviously), the decision was made to, as we say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.
“It is the prerogative of the producers, in association with the network, to make the decisions that they consider are in the best long-term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately, it is your decision. I’m going to [leave] them to answer any additional questions about those decisions. “
Bergeron was fired from the show the following year and replaced by Tyra Banks . Still, the controversial casting continues the following season with Carole Baskin . The King Tiger star was cast after being accused of having something to do with the disappearance of her ex-husband, Don Lewis. She denied having any involvement.
In September 2021, a source confirmed to Us Weekly that Olivia Jade Giannulli would be competing in season 30. The influencer is best known for being part of the college admissions scandal after her parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli , were indicted. Of paying $ 500,000 in bribes to secure his daughters’ admission to the University of Southern California. Although the couple maintained their innocence, they later pleaded guilty to fraud charges and both spent time in prison.