Julianne Hough Responds to ‘The Activist’ Criticisms, Blackface Incident: “I Am Not Qualified to Act As A Judge”

Julianne Hough has responded to criticism following the announcement of her new reality show, The Activist, set to debut on CBS this October. In an Instagram post shared yesterday (Sept. 14), the professional dancer opened up about the backlash, and the future of the series.

“The last few days have been a powerful demonstration of real-time activism,” the post begins. “Thank you for using your voices, calling me in, your accountability, and your candor. I am deeply listening with an open heart and mind.”

The Activist was announced around a week ago at CBS’ TCA panel and almost immediately went under fire for its Black Mirror-esque premise. In the new reality series, six activists will come together from across the globe to “bring meaningful urge” to one major cause affecting the planet. Per CBS’ description, “The activists will compete in missions, media stunts, digital campaigns and community events aimed at garnering the attention of the world’s most powerful decision-makers, demanding action, now. The competing activists’ success is measured via online engagement, social metrics and hosts’ input.”

Upset by the concept, fans quickly shared their opinions on social media — opinions that did not go unnoticed by the show’s hosts. Hough is set to host alongside Usher and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and was the first to open up about the series.

“After the press release announcing The Activist, I heard you say that the show was performative,” Hough wrote, continuing that it “promoted pseudo-activism over real activism, felt tone-deaf, like Black Mirror, The Hunger Games, and that the hosts weren’t qualified to assess activism because we are celebrities and not activists.”

While Hough didn’t make her future with the show clear in the post, she did address that she doesn’t feel trained enough to perform as a judge on the series. She also addressed her controversial 2013 blackface Halloween costume, in which she went as Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) of Orange is the New Black.

“I do not claim to be an activist and wholeheartedly agree that the judging aspect of the show missed the mark and furthermore, that I am not qualified to act as a judge,” Hough wrote. “Wearing blackface was a poor choice based on my own white privilege and white body bias that hurt people and is something that I regret doing to this day.”

Hough explained why she initially joined the series, and what struck her about the concept behind CBS’ The Activist.

“It feels important for me to share that the original reason I signed on to this show was because I was really excited to be a part of something that highlights, and is centered around sharing activists’ work on a larger platform,” Hough explained. “In doing so, I felt it would help educate, mobilize, and inspire people around the world to get involved in activism because many worthy causes need attention, funding, and most importantly, the power to effect real change.”

To close, Hough tried to provide some idea of what the future of the reality competition might look like. As of now, the show is still set to air on CBS next month.

“I do not have all the answers yet,” Hough wrote in her conclusion slide. “I’ve shared your concerns as well as my own with the powers that be, who I believe have listened. I have faith in confidence in the beautiful people that I’ve worked with will make the right choice and do thing moving forward. Not just for the show, but for the greater good.”

The five-week-long reality series is set to premiere Friday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will stream live and on demand on Paramount+.