It’s one thing to own your criticism and grow from it. It’s another to literally become that criticism.
Harry Jowsey dressed up as a tree trunk on the Dancing With the Stars tour this week, showing his new outfit in a TikTok video posted Thursday, February 29.
The fit is a tribute to the harsh insult DWTS guest judge Billy Porter gave him last November, saying of Jowsey and his dance with Rylee Arnold, “You can loosen up a little bit and you can challenge yourself to do more steps now, and not just be a tree trunk for her to use and abuse.”
Jowsey, 26, seemed to own it right away, immediately commenting “#teamtreetrunk” on the show’s Instagram account the week of the episode. He’s also sported a T-shirt on his own Instagram that simply reads, “Tree Trunk.”
This time, rather than a shirt, Jowsey has opted for some more arboreal flair on stage. As the tour moves through Texas — they’re in Grand Prairie, Sugar Land and Midland this weekend — Jowsey seems all-in on his new nickname. The costume appears to be a simple brown onesie designed to look like the bark of a tree, with a pointed brown cap and leaves coming off the top. In the TikTok, Jowsey is also holding a small, leafy branch, just in case anyone missed the reference.
@harryjowsey What is my life #treetrunk #dwts
This isn’t the first time that Jowsey has made headlines on the Dancing With the Stars tour. Earlier last month, he bizarrely ran off the stage during a show in Clearwater, Florida, after a solo performance with Arnold, 18. She later posted a video explaining what happened, making it clear that Jowsey actually became confused and forgot what he was supposed to do next. Instead of adjusting, he admitted he ran off the stage.
Still, he’s not one to lack confidence, and the Too Hot to Handle season 1 contestant has made it a habit to clap back at his critics. After some Dancing With the Stars fans alleged the show was rigged in his favor, Jowsey posted a smiling photo of himself driving his car with the top down via Instagram. The caption read, “Winners focus on winning and losers focus on winners.”
Jowsey and Arnold ultimately placed sixth on the show’s 32nd season, which actress Xochitl Gomez and her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, eventually won.
Porter hasn’t responded to the tree trunk costume yet, but perhaps that is because he’s … stumped.
