Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
sean spicer
-
Tom Bergeron Was "Furious" That 'DWTS' "Screwed" Him Over By Casting Sean Spicer: "Really Pissed Me Off"
-
'Dancing with the Stars' Names Season 28 Champion
-
Sean Spicer Says He's "Relieved" to Be Eliminated from 'Dancing with the Stars'
-
'Dancing with the Stars' Judges Want Sean Spicer Out, But Trump Supporters are Keeping Him Alive
Tom Bergeron isn’t the only ABC employee upset with the network’s decision to cast Sean Spicer on Dancing with the Stars Season 28. On Thursday night, Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff took to Twitter to slam the controversial casting, and she asked ABC, DWTS, and Disney boss Bob Iger to “change this plan” immediately. “This man lied daily, to our faces, and made a mockery of our country,” wrote Vernoff. “This is not cause for celebration or celebrity.”
Spicer’s casting was first announced on Wednesday, August 21, and it immediately ignited a firestorm of criticism. While many prominent figures reacted to the news that day, Vernoff waited until Thursday night to put in her two cents. The Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 boss retweeted a post from the former White House press secretary — “It’s time to have some fun. Excited to join a great cast and show,” he said — writing, “I deeply abhor this decision by the company I work for and truly love.”
“This man lied daily, to our faces, and made a mockery of our country,” she continued. “This is not cause for celebration or celebrity.” Tagging the official Twitter handles for DWTS, ABC, and Bob Iger, Vernoff added, “It’s not too late to change this plan. Please.”
Vernoff is the latest high-profile figure to slam ABC’s decision. Just a few hours after Spicer’s casting was announced live on Good Morning America, Bergeron called out the network for blindsiding him with the news. The DWTS host said that he hoped the upcoming season “would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations,” but his wishes were ignored. “We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately, it’s their call,” Bergeron said of the show’s producers. In addition, Chelsea Handler, Bradley Whitford, Yvette Nicole Brown, and more Hollywood power players also condemned the casting decision, which ignited a #boycottDWTS Twitter campaign.
Despite the blowback, network and show executives have yet to reverse course. “We’ve got a great and diverse cast,” DWTS executive producer Andrew Llinares told Decider earlier this week. “We are excited about this season.”
Dancing with the Stars Season 28 premieres Monday, September 16 at 8/7c on ABC.
