‘Dancing With The Stars’ Host Tom Bergeron Disappointed With Sean Spicer Booking; Others React
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Refresh for updates Tom Bergeron, the longtime host of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, isn’t happy with the booking of Sean Spicer, Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary, as a contestant for the upcoming season.
In a tweet today following the casting announcement, Bergeron wrote that he had hoped the upcoming 28 season “would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”
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In fact, Bergeron said he left a lunch with the show’s new executive producer (that would be Andrew Llinares) a few months ago and thought they were in agreement.
“Subsequently (and rather obviously),” Bergeron continued, “a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.”
Bergeron also stopped by for a promotional appearance on SiriusXM to discuss the show with host Dalton Ross, reiterating his tweet.
See his entire Twitter statement below.
Deadline has reached out to ABC for comment.
Bergeron wasn’t the only Hollywood figure disappointed with the booking. Bill Prader, executive producer of The Big Bang Theory, tweeted, ”
Sean Spicer lied repeatedly to the American people and literally defended Hitler. @ABC Network: “Yes, but can he fox trot? Tune in to see!”
For his part, Spicer was enthusiastic. “It’s time to have some fun,” he tweeted this morning.
ABC might want to have considered Spicer’s surprise appearance on the 2017 Emmys, hosted by Stephen Colbert, which didn’t go down well with many. A couple flashbacks:
I'm not ready to laugh "with" Sean Spicer. I think he is an evil, opportunistic liar that hurt our country.
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) September 18, 2017
.@seanspicer can normalize himself in good fun, but he still passionately advocated against human rights, health care, & American values
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) September 18, 2017
Here are some reactions to the Dancing With The Stars announcement. Deadline will add other reactions as they arrive.
Normalizing a professional liar. Who supported and lied for a bigot and a racist. Why anyone would support a project that stars Sean Spicer is beyond me. https://t.co/vmGMR286pI
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) August 21, 2019
Sean Spicer's celebrity is proof we are doing it wronghttps://t.co/uI9foIwvnh pic.twitter.com/9e1OiY9Ri0
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) August 21, 2019
The cynicism and carelessness it took to hire Sean Spicer… god it’s all just so depressing honestly.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) August 21, 2019
Just think about the (liberal) TV executives who did this. Think about what they said to each other in making this choice. Think about why they did it. And then the dark, empty soul of commercial TV will be revealed to you & you’ll understand how we got Trump. https://t.co/k0InquPE5O
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) August 21, 2019
Sean Spicer on #DWTS? Makes perfect sense. He has so much practice. He tapped danced around the truth for years.
— Elayne Boosler (@ElayneBoosler) August 21, 2019
Some thoughts about today pic.twitter.com/aCQ4SHrGCI
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) August 21, 2019
It’s time to have some fun. Excited to join a great cast and show @DancingABC https://t.co/X6p86eiL0Y
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) August 21, 2019
Sean Spicer lied repeatedly to the American people and literally defended Hitler. @ABCNetwork: “Yes, but can he fox trot? Tune in to see!”
— Bill Prady (@billprady) August 21, 2019
Tom – if anyone can handle this with aplomb & the appropriate smirk…you can.
I know contracts don't let you "take a knee" – but..damn.
Just have them check his trailer often to make sure he's not stealing the tv. #SeanSpicer #Notforgiven https://t.co/qqXn1PP4AT
— Lisa Ann Walter (@LisaAnnWalter) August 21, 2019
Yeah, that spicy addition is very problematic.
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) August 21, 2019
At a certain point, you have made enough money to start making decisions with your heart and your head, and not your wallet. Tom makes over $150k per week. He could’ve afforded to take a stand here. https://t.co/PSxsato8eb
— Carina Adly MacKenzie (@cadlymack) August 21, 2019
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