Sean Spicer Makes Inevitable Sidestep Onto "Dancing With Stars"

It might feel like a decade ago, but it's been about two years since the glorious summer of Spicer. You remember it, don't you? When reports about former White House press secretary Sean Spicer dominated the news cycle. Whether it was when he called Nazi concentration camps "Holocaust Centers"; or when he stole a mini-fridge; or when he played the Easter Bunny; or when he hid from reporters in the White House bushes; or when he screamed at reporters about the size of the crowd at Trump's Inauguration, he's a one-man greatest hits of political gaffes and outright lies so much so that the public just kind of likes him for it.

Based on that sterling recommendation from the American People, who, again, kind of like him, he's been invited onto the American mainstage of public rehabilitation: Dancing With the Stars.

Yesterday, ABC announced the cast of Dancing With Stars on Good Morning America, where Spicer appeared sandwiched between All That's Kel Mitchell and supermodel Christie Brinkley, as if he didn't tweet about his disdain for Dippin' Dots, the ice cream of the future, multiple times.

Needless to say, the addition of someone who helped launch the phrase "alternative facts" into the cultural lexicon went over about as well as that time he showed up at the 2017 Emmys.

I will never think it’s an amusing diversion for Sean Spicer to be on Dancing with the Stars. He defended and lied about amoral, monstrous if not criminal policies and actions. Way to launder amorality, ABC. Gross.

— Mo Ryan (@moryan) August 21, 2019

Hello @Disney,

I see that you have added Sean Spicer to the next season of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ You are supposed to have stars on the show, it’s not ‘Dancing with the Nazis.’

Pull him from the show or face a boycott of your mouse-related crap factory.

Love,

God

— God (@thegoodgodabove) August 21, 2019

The backlash didn't end there. Writing for The New York Times, television critic James Poniewozik wrote:

But that’s just the point. To treat Spicer, and his reason for notoriety, as a harmless joke is to whitewash the harm of what he did, which was to say things so absurdly false that he invited his political side to join him in denying their own eyeballs, to encourage people to believe that facts don’t matter if they hurt your team.

To put him on a silly reality show is to say that he committed a silly offense and that you’re silly if you still make a big deal about it -- everybody lies, everybody does what they’ve got to do to get by, everything’s a joke, just stop being such a fussbudget and enjoy the show.

Throughout the day, the show's hosts and stars released statements about his casting and, essentially, shrugging off responsibility to the show's producers. Host Tom Bergeron tweeted, "It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decision they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it's their call[…]Hopefully, when Erin Andrews and I look into those lenses again on September 16, you'll be on the other side looking back, able to enjoy the charismatic pro dancers, the unpredictable judges and the kitschy charm that has defined DWTS since 2005."

Yes, the kitschy charm of the "holocaust centers" guy.

Spicer's fellow castmate, Queer Eye's Karamo Brown tweeted a similar statement. He wrote, "I have no say who is on the cast and didn’t find out till this morning that he is on! But I’ll tell you this… I’m excited to sit down w/ him and engage in a respectful conversations."

First, I have no say who is on the cast and didn’t find out till this morning that he is on! But I’ll tell you this… I’m excited to sit down w/ him and engage in a respectful conversations. Only way things get better is if we try to educate those who have different POV than us.

— Karamo Brown (@Karamo) August 21, 2019

Well, we'll be able to watch those "respectful conversations" in the form of dance on September 16. Will Spicer's public rehab work? Probably. Our collective memory is about three seconds long at this point, so get ready for more Spicer and a lot of it.