When the former Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, left the White House in the summer of 2017, I didn’t anticipate his next career move would be as a ‘celebrity’ guest on Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) but at this point, I’m not sure why we’re even surprised.
Throughout his tenure as Press Secretary for the beginning of the Trump Administration, Spicer became a fixture of American political discourse — but not for the reasons that he would have liked.
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Unlike his predecessors, rather than being a fierce advocate for the continued relationship between the White House and the Free Press, he became the butt of SNL’s jokes for his constant defense of the new administration’s reliance on “alternative facts’” the constant stream of his own lies and the deteriorating alliance between America’s highest political echelons and the press.
Related: As A Journalism Student, I am Terrified by the Trump Administration’s Mistreatment of the Media
In the six months that he held the position, Sean Spicer told a nearly constant stream of blatant lies and needless to say, despite his relatively quick exit from the White House, he has no credibility left.
Despite his political career going down in a flaming blaze of mediocrity, half-truths and temper tantrums, Spicer had managed to sink mostly below the average American’s radar, keeping him safely out of the nightly news cycle and comedy skits alike since his departure. Until now.
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When DWTS announced the cast for Season 28, it appeared to be business as usual with your standard motley crew of actors, reality TV personalities and athletes – and then you hit the point on the list announcing Spicer.
After a controversial judging decision in the finale of the previous season and the decision to deviate from the show’s traditional structure and skip the spring season, DWTS was looking to come back in a big way. However, this ratings grab might just backfire. While the show seems to be holding firm in their decision to cast Spicer, there has been an outcry from both inside and outside of the ABC news family.
The normally mild-mannered DWTS host Tom Bergeron, took to his twitter to share his perspective on the controversy (and possibly to distance himself from any involvement in it), stating his initial hope that DWTS “would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings for any party affiliations. I left that meeting convinced we were in agreement. Subsequently, a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.’”
Via Tom Bergeron
Bergeron is not alone in his unhappiness surrounding the casting, the ABC News staffers — frequently on the receiving end of Spicer’s jabs at the press — have been vocal in their unhappiness over the casting, calling it a “slap in the face.” While some couldn’t care less about the casting, it’s highly personal for others. After they were on the frontlines in the war between the new administration and the media, they now are forced to watch — and cheerily promote it — as Spicer is paid six figures for his appearance on DWTS, anonymously stating that “it’s disgusting to think he is getting on the show and getting paid by our company.”
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Unfortunately, not everyone is unhappy with the casting, with castmate and Queer Eye star Kamaro Brown even going so far as to hop to his defense, stating that, “people would look at us and think that we’re polar opposites, but I’m a big believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle, you can learn about each other and help each other both grow.” Brown even made the leap to call Spicer a “good guy” and “really sweet.”
Related: Sean Spicer Can’t Sit With Us
While there is a time and a place for civility and understanding — especially when you have to work with someone — we can’t agree with this assessment. In his short time on the lectern, Spicer, on behalf of the US government, lied directly to the American people and both became complicit in and furthered Donald Trump’s autocratic fantasies. While you can separate your relatives or your classmates from their beliefs and find mutual ground and understanding, you simply cannot do the same with someone of Spicer’s ilk.
We may love a tango and foxtrot just as much as the next person, but we can’t support ABC choosing to — yet again — attempt to increase their ratings by using a polarizing figure as clickbait, even if the result is bound to be as both hilariously awkward and cringeworthy as his tenure as Press Secretary.
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