In The Media: DWTS

[DEL901]

Mel C spotted

https://www.tmz.com/2021/09/07/spice-girls-mel-c-arrives-los-angeles-dwts-dancing-with-the-stars/

[kitcloudkicker]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Mel C spotted

https://www.tmz.com/2021/09/07/spice-girls-mel-c-arrives-los-angeles-dwts-dancing-with-the-stars/

I would be somewhat looking forward to this one but she’s allegedly partnered with Gloob and he’s gonna f*ck it up with cringe choreography.

[MsTree]

11 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

There are no "special rules" just for JoJo. Equal treatment does not equal "special treatment."

Not true, and here's why: As speculated, JoJo will probably take the lead role as well as the follow role. Now what if she's better at leading than following? And if that's the case, and I were her partner, I'd make sure she did all the leading in subsequent dancers in order to show her best dancing skills. So, in essence for some, that would equal "special treatment".

[LizDC]

 

[kitcloudkicker]

5 hours ago, MsTree said:

Not true, and here's why: As speculated, JoJo will probably take the lead role as well as the follow role. Now what if she's better at leading than following? And if that's the case, and I were her partner, I'd make sure she did all the leading in subsequent dancers in order to show her best dancing skills. So, in essence for some, that would equal "special treatment".

Not true and here’s why: As speculated, there’s a big strong WWE contestant in the cast. Now what if he’s better at lifting a small partner above his head than moving his feet? And if that’s the case, and I were his partner, I’d make sure he did a lot of lifting in all the dances that allow them to show off his best dancing skills. So in essence for some, that would equal “special treatment”.

(You’re reaching. Welcome to DWTS, this is how it works.)

[mtlchick]

I surprisingly don't hate this cast.  A few of them I don't know and I think Peleton instructors are popular but NOT stars.  But they have enough people where I'll watch the first few weeks for sure. 

[legaleagle53]

6 hours ago, MsTree said:

Not true, and here's why: As speculated, JoJo will probably take the lead role as well as the follow role. Now what if she's better at leading than following? And if that's the case, and I were her partner, I'd make sure she did all the leading in subsequent dancers in order to show her best dancing skills. So, in essence for some, that would equal "special treatment".

No more than if she were a male celebrity, since they are ALWAYS tasked with leading. And that's all I care to say on the matter. The bottom line is that I do not see gender when it comes to DanceSport, and neither do many other people.

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

I surprisingly don't hate this cast.  A few of them I don't know and I think Peleton instructors are popular but NOT stars.  But they have enough people where I'll watch the first few weeks for sure. 

I’m laughing at the Peloton instructor because he’s literally a professional backup dancer. I don’t have a Peloton but used to go to his classes live in New York and he would always talk about his dance gigs. (His classes were the best because they always had great music and rhythm)

So contestants with professional dance/performance experience include:

Amanda Kloots

Jan from the Office (was Roxy on Broadway, trained in ballet in her youth)

JoJo

Mel C

Cody from Peloton 

and dance-adjacent, if you consider gymnastics that way, Suni Lee

Did I miss anyone? I actually don’t mind dancers on this show so maybe by having so many people will complain less?

Edited September 8, 2021 by kitcloudkicker

[kitcloudkicker]

Also do we think the Peloton instructor is on because of a brand deal to sell Pelotons? Is that too cynical? Has anyone ever been on as sort of a representative of a company before?

[Rightside]

Between this cast and Tyra, there is no interest.

I don't even care who will be the pros.

[blackwing]

How much money did her crooked parents donate to the show in order to get Olivia Jade on?  She is talentless to begin with, had her parents buy her way into school, didn't really feel sorry about the whole thing, and is still around.  I guess I will never fully understand why people like her can have such a huge following.

Amanda Kloots, of "The Talk" and widow of Broadway star Nick Cordero.  Yep.  I'm sorry the guy died, but she milked his death so people felt sorry for her and she got a job on a failing talk show.  I see she is still calling herself "widow of Nick Cordero" even though I thought she started dating again.

[TVMovieBuff]

1 hour ago, Rightside said:

Between this cast and Tyra, there is no interest.

I don't even care who will be the pros.

There are always a few people I have never heard of in all casts, usually sports figures. There are many I haven't heard of here. But I will get to know them. Some of my very favorite dancers from seasons past were strangers at first. 

Pros this season are Emma, Sasha, Val, Jenna, Pasha, Daniela, Cheryl, Lindsay, Witney, Sharna, Brit, Brandon, Artem, Gleb, Alan

[Sd601]

Even if Sharna isn’t paired with her boyfriend Brian Austin Green, what happens if they break up? Carlos & Alexa were happily married, and even that was a weird dynamic on the show. Just uncomfortable to watch, even though I liked both of them. 
 

I love Melora Hardin, and Kate Flannery did well, so maybe Office Fans vote. Peloton fans seem obsessive to me and could keep this instructor on, but who knows if they’re fans of the show.

 

It’s the pairings & chemistry that will make the couples. And some dance experience or natural ability is fun for the viewer to watch, so I’m pleased at most of the contestants. I’m excited for the season, even with Tyra. Sigh. 

[Rightside]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

How much money did her crooked parents donate to the show in order to get Olivia Jade on?  She is talentless to begin with, had her parents buy her way into school, didn't really feel sorry about the whole thing, and is still around.  I guess I will never fully understand why people like her can have such a huge following.

Amanda Kloots, of "The Talk" and widow of Broadway star Nick Cordero.  Yep.  I'm sorry the guy died, but she milked his death so people felt sorry for her and she got a job on a failing talk show.  I see she is still calling herself "widow of Nick Cordero" even though I thought she started dating again.

I hear you on both of these!!! Two bad choices for this show. 

I remember back when the show was really fun to watch but that hasn't happened in ages.

[Annber03]

As someone who likes the Spice Girls, Mel C. will be fun for me to watch :). And Melora Hardin - not only was she on "The Office", but she was also Trudy on "Monk". It'll be neat to see her, too. 

The rest I either don't know or have no real opinion on one way or another, save for Olivia Jade, but even then I only know about her thanks to all the crazy stuff with her mom. 

[calipiano81]

Whether Jojo dances the "lead" or the "follow," I hope she and Jenna decide their roles early on and commit to them. Personally, I would prefer they didn't switch back and forth and I would like to see Jenna dance the lead since she is the pro.

I couldn't fully enjoy Johnny and Britt last season because, a lot of the time, I felt they were dancing the same roles.

 

 

[Lady Calypso]

I gotta admit, every time the show brings a controversial celebrity on, my blood boils and I keep getting surprised that they pull this shit. I shouldn't be surprised anymore; this show will stoop to the lowest of lows just for ratings, when they shouldn't be giving controversial and gross celebrities a platform at all.

But other than Privileged "College" Princess, the cast DOES look solid. Granted, there's quite a few celebrities who have some type of dance experience, but there aren't any outright duds (besides Privileged "College" Princess) and I should enjoy watching most of the dances.

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, calipiano81 said:

Whether Jojo dances the "lead" or the "follow," I hope she and Jenna decide their roles early on and commit to them. Personally, I would prefer they didn't switch back and forth and I would like to see Jenna dance the lead since she is the pro.

I couldn't fully enjoy Johnny and Britt last season because, a lot of the time, I felt they were dancing the same roles.

 

 

Height will matter here though, right? JoJo is tall, like 5’10, and I think Jenna is little, like 5’2. It’d be hard for them to get in a proper frame if JoJo’s not leading, I think?

[Lovecat]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

Amanda Kloots, of "The Talk" and widow of Broadway star Nick Cordero.  Yep.  I'm sorry the guy died, but she milked his death so people felt sorry for her and she got a job on a failing talk show.  I see she is still calling herself "widow of Nick Cordero" even though I thought she started dating again.

Come sit next to me, @blackwing...  I'd like to think that all of that public mourning didn't have an ulterior motive, but I sure did find it distasteful.  There's just something gross about being known as a professional widow(er).  See also: Rory Feek.  I'm not a country fan, so I had no idea who that guy was until his wife was dying.  Then he was EVERYWHERE.

[chocolatine]

I don't see anything wrong if Jojo and Jenna want to switch up the leading and following. It's not going to make it any easier for Jojo to learn the choreography. Granted, I only used to dance socially and not competitively, but switching is pretty common in that scene and the best social dancers I know are really good at both. I'm usually a follow but enjoy leading  occasionally, especially when I have a smaller male partner whom I'm able to lift.

[chitowngirl]

The inclusion of Olivia Jade guarantees I will not watch one second of this season.

[Emily-D]

As a Spice Girls fan when I was younger, it's very disappointing that Mel C has the worst pro on the show if the spoilers online are true. I simply can't vote for her with him.

The cast doesn't really stand out, I thought last year's was better but it's very much subjective. I have a Peleton and whilst I certainly question his "star credentials", the instructor will go very far in the competition. He's got a great personality, very easy on the eye and can definitely dance". Of those who watch the show that don't know him will probably grow to like him. I know about the Miz through wrestling as well, he's also got a great personality to but I'll be surprised if he's that good a dancer. Very much identical to Chris Jericho, probably a mid season boot. 

The rest of the cast I either don't know or dislike (Matt James, Loughlin's kid). I can already tell early on that Matt James getting voted through by Bachelor Nation every week despite being absolutely terrible is going to see me tune out real fast. The gymnast will probably go for as usual, the country music singer looks like he'll do well, the basketball player physically looks like he could buck the usual trend of getting kicked off week 1 and Nick Cordero's wife was a Rockette (thanks Wiki), so she's a major ringer. 

[Rightside]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I gotta admit, every time the show brings a controversial celebrity on, my blood boils and I keep getting surprised that they pull this shit. I shouldn't be surprised anymore; this show will stoop to the lowest of lows just for ratings, when they shouldn't be giving controversial and gross celebrities a platform at all.

But other than Privileged "College" Princess, the cast DOES look solid. Granted, there's quite a few celebrities who have some type of dance experience, but there aren't any outright duds (besides Privileged "College" Princess) and I should enjoy watching most of the dances.

It just rewards her bad behavior as she knew she was never on a rowing team, but could pose for pictures. Why give her any attention? That is the point!!

[seasons]

I kind of feel sorry for JoJo. She's 18 now, and that bow has been such a big part of her livelihood. But at this age she still has to be connected to it, I guess? Kind of like "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" That song "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" - ugh, I hope JoJo can grow up and find an identity (and a moneymaker) away from that. I see those bows for sale now in CVS. I wish her the best.

 

Olivia Jade? Wow. Just wow. Wonder if her Daddy is still under home confinement. Don't want to see her parents in the audience, cheering on their little precious daughter.

I hope she gets booted week 1.Sadly, I don't think she has learned anything from this mess. Or her parents.

Edited September 8, 2021 by seasons

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

The inclusion of Olivia Jade guarantees I will not watch one second of this season.

Even with Val as a partner, I can't see her making it past the second or third week. I'd like to think the DWTS audience has a hell of a lot less tolerance for poor-little-rich-people controversy after the past two years.

And if they wanted to milk the Aunt Becky controversy, why didn't DWTS get Aunt Becky? Olivia Jade can't even claim this scandal. What's supposed to be her claim-to-"fame"? "My mom and dad bought my way into to a college I didn't even want to go to and then I lost all my YouTube sponsors?"

How far did Julianne Hough/Chuck Wicks get when they danced together when they were dating?

Edited September 8, 2021 by LexieLily

[madpsych78]

If we're going to talk about that lead/follow has no gender, then...honestly...why don't females lead once in a while? Especially in Latin dances where they are less in hold. I mean seriously though. I remember that Karina had a celebrity who was 5'2" and she was taller than him, even with flat feet. He wasn't good by any means, but that would have been a good example of having her lead because she was taller. Why does this have to be gender-restricted? Maybe who leads and who follows should be determined by height, not gender. Personally, I think that THAT would be just as progressive as having a same-sex couple dancing on DWTS. 

I strongly suspect that Jojo will lead for the majority of the dances because 1) she is taller than Jenna and 2) Jenna is used to assuming the follower role anyway as a pro. 

I actually don't mind the ringers this season because there are a LOT of them. It's not like there are really one or two who stand out above the rest. 

My pair predictions:

Jimmie Allen and Witney

Mel C and Gleb

Christine Chiu and Pasha

Brian Austin Green and Sharna

Melora Hardin and Artem

Olivia Jade and Val

Matt James and Lindsay

Amanda Kloots and Alan

Martin Kove and Emma

Suni Lee and Sasha

Mike "The Miz" and Cheryl

Kenya Moore and Brandon

Cody Rigsby and Britt

Iman Shumpert and Daniella

Jojo Siwa and Jenna

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by madpsych78

[calipiano81]

3 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

Height will matter here though, right? JoJo is tall, like 5’10, and I think Jenna is little, like 5’2. It’d be hard for them to get in a proper frame if JoJo’s not leading, I think?

You're right. I wasn't aware of their height difference. In that case, I hope Jojo commits to leading and providing a sturdy frame.

15 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

How far did Julianne Hough/Chuck Wicks get when they danced together when they were dating?

They placed sixth, I believe.

[babyhouseman]

9 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

Jan from the Office (was Roxy on Broadway, trained in ballet in her youth)

OK, my profile makes it obvious I love the movie Dirty Dancing. Melora Hardin played Baby in a short lived TV show based on Dirty Dancing. I remember watching the show and not getting into it. It'll probably be mentioned on DWTS. I'm familiar with her from Monk too. 

If the gymnast gets Sasha, I'll root for them. I like Sasha and want him to win. But his last gymnast didn't turn out as well as hoped(Simone Biles). 

And I hate the bachelor association with the show. The past two winners have been Bachelor people. Ugh for bachelor nation. They got Grocery store Joe much higher than he deserved.

And I know we have to accept Tyra. But having the 30th season without Tom is so irritating. 

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, babyhouseman said:

OK, my profile makes it obvious I love the movie Dirty Dancing. Melora Hardin played Baby in a short lived TV show based on Dirty Dancing. I remember watching the show and not getting into it. It'll probably be mentioned on DWTS. I'm familiar with her from Monk too. 

I wonder if they'll mention Monk. The Office seems to be her 'main' claim-to-fame or at least the one people most know her by, but I'm one of the 10% of America who's never seen an episode of that show, so it doesn't mean anything to me that she was on there. Lol. 

[sue450]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:12 PM, rr2911 said:

Even though I won't be watching DWTS since Tyra Banks is still the host, I probably wouldn't be watching the show anyway.  JoJo is just pushing the envelope a bit I think.  I don't think it's discriminatory if they kept the tradition alive and stayed with a man/woman couple.  Who someone's paired with isn't going to define their sexual preference.  It's just ballroom dancing.  One concern is, are the judges going to be fair and score JoJo as performing the male steps accurately?  Or are they going to throw the ballroom dance steps out the window to accommodate JoJo?  I think the show has shot itself in the foot on this.

you make a good point...we will see

[MsTree]

17 hours ago, kitcloudkicker said:

Not true and here’s why: As speculated, there’s a big strong WWE contestant in the cast. Now what if he’s better at lifting a small partner above his head than moving his feet? And if that’s the case, and I were his partner, I’d make sure he did a lot of lifting in all the dances that allow them to show off his best dancing skills. So in essence for some, that would equal “special treatment”.

(You’re reaching. Welcome to DWTS, this is how it works.)

And that's EXACTLY what the pros have them do! And sometimes it works! But you're missing my point, as I was just addressing the question of special treatment...and not that it has or hasn't been done before.

My opinion isn't really reaching, and I'm not new to DWTS. Unfortunately, parroting is beyond reaching.

[MsTree]

17 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

The bottom line is that I do not see gender when it comes to DanceSport, and neither do many other people.

Have we seen gender on the National Ballroom Competitions?

[kitcloudkicker]

1 hour ago, MsTree said:

Have we seen gender on the National Ballroom Competitions?

Is Blackpoole good enough for you? I think they **checks notes** know a little bit about ballroom dancing

 

[Rightside]

15 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Even with Val as a partner, I can't see her making it past the second or third week. I'd like to think the DWTS audience has a hell of a lot less tolerance for poor-little-rich-people controversy after the past two years.

Well, I never thought Sailor what's her name would make it very far and didn't she last quite some time?

[boyznkatz]

If we can see past the entitled rich twit, this season should be pretty good. There are plenty of ringers, so the dancing should be good. It's also about time they did a same-sex pairing. Why didn't they do a pairing with two men as well? I think that would have been cool to have both. 

I don't want to boycott the show, but I hope Olivia Jade and the annoying bachelor are the first to go. I'm still trying to figure out why they even put Olivia Jade on the show. People would watch without the stupid "controversies" they invent. 

[boyznkatz]

On 9/8/2021 at 8:01 AM, kitcloudkicker said:

Also do we think the Peloton instructor is on because of a brand deal to sell Pelotons? Is that too cynical? Has anyone ever been on as sort of a representative of a company before?

I don't know how he qualifies as a "star" in any way, shape or form, but if he's a dancer then I'll enjoy watching him.

On another note, I vaguely remembered Melora Hardin's name and looked her up. Dang, she has made a lot of movies and TV shows! I'm surprised I've never seen any of them.

[babyhouseman]

9 hours ago, Rightside said:

Well, I never thought Sailor what's her name would make it very far and didn't she last quite some time?

I might be too cynical, but I always thought her mom's injury was a way for her to get on the show. They can't cast Lori Loughlin because she's too controversial.

[LexieLily]

20 hours ago, babyhouseman said:

They can't cast Lori Loughlin because she's too controversial.

LOL, that didn't stop them from casting Bristol Palin, Sean Spicer, Tonya Harding a season after they had Nancy Kerrigan, etc.

[babyhouseman]

4 hours ago, LexieLily said:

LOL, that didn't stop them from casting Bristol Palin, Sean Spicer, Tonya Harding a season after they had Nancy Kerrigan, etc.

I was thinking in terms of doing something illegal. And Tonya Harding did that. Then there are the political controversies. 

[EllenB]

On 9/8/2021 at 2:19 PM, Lovecat said:

Come sit next to me, @blackwing...  I'd like to think that all of that public mourning didn't have an ulterior motive, but I sure did find it distasteful.  There's just something gross about being known as a professional widow(er).  See also: Rory Feek.  I'm not a country fan, so I had no idea who that guy was until his wife was dying.  Then he was EVERYWHERE.

They're amateurs compared to Buddy Holly's widow. They got married really soon after meeting, were married SIX MONTHS when he died, and even though she remarried and had children, she controlled all the rights to his music and played the professional widow for all it's worth. I saw a clip from what I think was a BH tribute decades later, and there she was, being treated like music royalty, and wearing her hair in a god-awful Peggy Sue ponytail with short bangs while being sung to. Pathetic.

[Rightside]

On 9/2/2021 at 1:16 PM, Linda956 said:

Olivia Jade will be a contestant?  Good Lord, they really are scraping the bottom of the barrel!  How is she a "star" by anyone's definition?  The producers probably hope Lori and her husband will be in the audience rooting for their daughter for more drama and publicity.  Horrible.

Since the convicted felons are on supervised release, they will likely be in the audience.

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Rightside

[TVMovieBuff]

On 9/8/2021 at 4:00 PM, chitowngirl said:

The inclusion of Olivia Jade guarantees I will not watch one second of this season.

Olivia Jade is just a kid, a teenager when her parents did their thing to ensure her a good school. Which they wanted more than she did. Parents can be assholes, just like anyone else. 

I wouldn't want to be branded as trash and my life deemed meaningless just because my parents did something illegal and stupid.

[DEL901]

She knew what they were doing and played an active part in the fraud.  I’m not giving her a pass.   Especially since it wasn’t even a school she wanted to go to and was desperate to get in.  

[TVMovieBuff]

18 hours ago, DEL901 said:

She knew what they were doing and played an active part in the fraud.  I’m not giving her a pass.   Especially since it wasn’t even a school she wanted to go to and was desperate to get in.  

Wow. I hope the stupid things my parents did didn't cause people to think that I didn't deserve anything good to happen to me.

[madpsych78]

OK, so the main reason I am familiar with Melora Hardin's name is because she was cast as the original Jennifer in Back to the Future (opposite Eric Stoltz) before Stoltz left and Michael J. Fox was cast. Hardin was apparently let go as Jennifer because she was too tall for Fox.

[MsTree]

15 hours ago, TVMovieBuff said:

Wow. I hope the stupid things my parents did didn't cause people to think that I didn't deserve anything good to happen to me.

The missing point is that the kid was ALSO involved in the scam, which became evident by the pictures she took for the rowing team. She knew what her parents were doing...and as DEL said (which the kid admitted on Instagram), she didn't even want to go there or any school for that matter.

 

 

[truthaboutluv]

4 hours ago, MsTree said:

The missing point is that the kid was ALSO involved in the scam, which became evident by the pictures she took for the rowing team.

This exactly. There's a reason most don't even know the names of Felicity Huffman's children that she paid the money for. I'm guessing it's because they found no evidence indicating these children knew anything about it and so most have separated them completely from what their mom did. Not the case with Olivia Jade. 

[DEL901]

7 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

This exactly. There's a reason most don't even know the names of Felicity Huffman's children that she paid the money for. I'm guessing it's because they found no evidence indicating these children knew anything about it and so most have separated them completely from what their mom did. Not the case with Olivia Jade. 

Felicity Huffman had one child in the scheme…they ended up not doing the same for the other.  Anyway, Huffman said that when everything came out, her daughter cried and was devastated that her own mother had no faith in her abilities and cheated for her.   She said that was the worst thing of all…not jail, but hurting her daughter.  

[Morrigan]

I swear I remember Tara saying something like she was bring more diversity to DWTS.

And then, Keo Motsepe is benched. And after he sadly broke up with Chrishell early this year. Yeah right...

Wonder who Gleb's seeing lately?

[kitcloudkicker]

I came across this recent podcast interview with Tom and Bob Saget. I didn’t listen to the whole thing but just scanned it for any DWTS gossip.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tom-bergeron-tells-us-of-his-legendary-broadcasting/id1504319251?i=1000535137376

I don’t know that any of these are new/surprising but:

- Tom believes he was fired for publicly disagreeing with the casting of Sean Spicer. (Or any political figure.) Says he could tell that whole season the powers that be were unhappy with him, and he cleaned out his dressing room at the end of the season because he could tell it was coming

- He wasn’t sad about it, as, “The show he left wasn’t the one he joined.” He and Erin were united in their disagreements and said “they had the most fun being fired.”

(Seems pretty clear there will be no return of Tom)

- Don’t know that there’s a way to fact check this, but Bob tells a story of a sitcom he was trying to get picked up and a former network exec told him he needed to do the DWTS or they wouldn’t pick up his other show. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if true, and he never did the show and his other show didn’t go forward so 🤷🏼‍♀️ But definitely am not shocked if those sorts of deals go into the casting.