Top 5 controversial 'Dancing With The Stars' celeb contestants from Sean Spicer to Ryan Lochte and Marla Maples
'Dancing With The Stars' Season 29 is on the air currently and even though its return to TV was delayed due to the ongoing pandemic, the show did pack punches with its celebrity lineup. Staying true to its reputation of bringing in controversial celebrities to shake a leg to ballroom dance styles, the show brought in Carole Baskin as a contestant this year and all hell broke loose.
Baskin was eliminated in week 2 and the conversation about her being on the show has pretty much drowned and become a thing of the past. However, Baskin is not the only dubious celeb to have been a part of the show but a number of them, including politicians, journalists, athletes and other known figures have done so in the past. Continue reading for a round-up of these celebrity contestants with controversial backgrounds who participated in the show.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer
Not many could believe it when the former White House Press Secretary under Donald Trump's administration, Sean Spicer, was announced on the Season 28 celebrity lineup. Shocked and repulsed to see him on the show, audiences took to Twitter to express their displeasure. For those who don't know, Spicer was the one telling American citizens that Trump’s inauguration drew "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. Both in-person and around the globe."
His statement was in direct contradiction to the photo evidence of a much smaller crowd compared to Obama’s 2009 inauguration. People were quick to contest the claims and Spicer later backtracked saying Trump’s inauguration was the biggest when in-person, streaming and television audiences were combined, according to Vox.
More of his lies were uncovered in the Mueller report in 2019 but Sean was determined to clear his image and walk away from his past like he continued to do since 2017 when he resigned from his position. However, the audiences of the show were not having it and 'DWTS' was called out for providing a platform to him.
"There's little downside when Sean Spicer knows he can always count on dumbshits like Stephen Colbert and Dancing With The Stars to help him rehabilitate again," read one of the multiple comments by fans.
There's little downside when Sean Spicer knows he can always count on dumbshits like Stephen Colbert and Dancing With The Stars to help him rehabilitate again.
— OG McDuck (@OG_McDuck) February 14, 2020
Celebrity Cook Paula Deen
Paula Deen was on Season 21 of 'DWTS'. Her appearance came after she was sued for racial discrimination and sexual harassment in 2013, by a former employee of a restaurant she co-owned with her brother, Bubba Hiers, in Savannah, Georgia. According to records, the 73-year-old had told an attorney that she had "of course" used "the n-word", though not for many years.
She also stated that she had considered hiring an all-Black team of waiters as part of an old-style southern plantation theme for her brother's wedding in 2007, having been impressed by a visit to a restaurant where the "entire wait staff was middle-aged Black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie," according to the Guardian.
After her misdoings came to light, she was supposed to appear on NBC's 'Today' show to explain herself but she pulled out the last minute. Instead, she posted videos online seeking forgiveness stating hurtful language is never acceptable and that she's sorry.
She said that she wants "people to understand that my family and I are not the kind of people that the press is wanting to say we are … Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me." Her Food Network contract was canceled after this controversy but then she got on to 'DWTS' two years later and the show was bashed for condoning her racial past.
Olympian Ryan Lochte
Lochte made an appearance on 'DWTS' after he was charged with falsely communicating a crime to authorities after he claimed that he and three other swim team members from the US were robbed in Brazil at gunpoint during the 2016 Olympics.
There was a lot of furor caused by this and even though he did manage to get on to the celeb lineup of 'DWTS', two men got on to the stage as part of the protest and at least four audience members yelled anti-Lochte chants. You can watch the video by clicking the play button below.
Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples
Maples appeared on Season 22 of 'DWTS', right when her ex-husband Donald Trump was in the thick of his presidential campaign in 2016. Trump and Maples' daughter Tiffany too made an appearance on the show for one of the episodes. Marla had also detailed her history with her ex-husband during the same.
Donald Trump's first wife Ivana Trump bashed her stint on the show, branding it classless, in her book 'Raising Trump'. “No class!” Ivana wrote, adding that she’s been asked to appear on the show “a hundred times — and offered a mint.” She wrote, “But I wouldn’t go on that show, dancing in those tiny dresses with the boobs and butt hanging out."
Ivana also slammed Marla's timing of the DWTS appearance: “The showgirl appeared on DWTS when (because) her ex-husband was running for president! It was disrespectful to do the show. I never would have embarrassed Donald that way," according to PEOPLE.
Politician Rick Perry
The former Governor of Texas appeared on 'DWTS' Season 23 in 2016. His decision to join the show was plagued with controversy at that time because he had abuse of power charges against him which were dropped just months before he was cast on the show. The following year he was appointed as Secretary of Energy by Donald Trump and confirmed by the US Senate in a 62-37 vote, on March 2, 2017.
'Dancing with the Stars' airs on Mondays at 8 pm ET on ABC.