Sean Spicer is looking to make a change. When the season 28 cast of Dancing With the Stars was revealed on Wednesday, August 21, there was a flood of comments on Twitter from angry fans about the former White House press secretary’s casting.
Host Tom Bergeron tweeted out a statement of his own following the reveal, explaining that he had asked ABC for “a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.” Later he found out that they were going “in a different direction,” and that now they will “agree to disagree.”
Following Bergeron’s statement, Spicer, 47, responded to the comments.
“I think Tom has been a great host. And I firmly believe when the season is over he’s probably going to realize bringing a diverse group of people together, who can interact in a fun, civil and respectful way, is actually a way we can move the country forward in a positive way,” he told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday, August 22. “And it will make this show an example of how Americans can disagree about politics and tune into good entertainment shows and keep their politics at bay.”
Karamo Brown, who was cast on the upcoming season, also responded in a tweet on Wednesday. “I have no say who is on the cast and didn’t find out till this morning that he is on,” he replied to a fan who said they were disappointed the Queer Eye star would participate alongside the politician. “But I’ll tell you this… I’m excited to sit down w/ him and engage in a respectful conversations. Only way things get better is if we try to educate those who have different POV than us.”
ABC, however, stands by their decision. “We’ve got a great and diverse cast. We are excited about the season,” executive producer Andrew Llinares told Us Weekly in a statement.
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
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