DWTS pro Val Chmerkovskiy issues major plea for | TV Shows

Val Chmerkovskiy is making his ideas about doable future contestants on Dancing With the Stars recognized–admitting one specific kind of competitor is the sort he hopes to see less of in the future.

The pro dancer and three-time Mirrorball champ, 40, has been a largely constant half of the ABC show for almost 15 years and was topped the DWTS champ in seasons 20, 23, and 32 alongside Rumer Willis, Laurie Hernandez, and Xochitl Gomez.

Now that the show has formally confirmed its thirty fifth season and the first two rivals, with an eye on casting actuality stars, the pro dancers are weighing in on other potential celebrities to be added to the combo.

The show has often drawn from varied fields for its casts, including actors, musicians, athletes, actuality stars, and social media influencers.

However, it is those with more political backgrounds that he admits to he doesn’t need to see again.

“Less politicians,” he told Us Weekly on Saturday, April 25, as he attended Jennie Garth and iHeartPodcast’s “I Choose Me” live summit at the iHeartRadio Theatre in Burbank, California.

“One of the things I admire about our show, I love being a part of the fact that in a world quite literally designed to split us all apart and create agony amongst people, we’re a show that creates union and brings people together,” he continued. “Yes, it’s just a dance show, but it’s way more than just a dance show.”

“Dance is just a vehicle to bring people together–of all ages, all political sides. No one knows who’s voting for who, and we’re all just enjoying ourselves and enjoying two hours a week of just good family fun.”

His feedback come after a number of political figures have competed on the show through the years, with some more notably controversial than others.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was the first to compete on the show’s third season, where he was the first superstar eradicated with accomplice Elena Grinenko. Former House Speaker Tom DeLay was the next to do so, competing in season 9 with Cheryl Burke, but rapidly withdrawing due to stress fractures in his ft.

The show took a long break from politicians afterward, next welcoming former Texas Governor Rick Perry in Season 23. He and Emma Slater had been the second pair eradicated.

Former Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer was the last political determine to seem on the show, coming in sixth place with Lindsay Arnold during the show’s twenty eighth season.

Spicer’s look on the show was notably controversial after the host, Tom Bergeron, commented on it, calling out the show’s producers and saying he didn’t agree with his being solid.

Taking to social media after Spicer was solid, he alluded to a lunch with the show’s govt producer at the time, saying he left the lunch pondering they had been in settlement that the show ought to serve as a respite from the “exhausting political climate” and could be “free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”

“It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long-term interests of the franchise,” he wrote at the time. “We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call.”

Subsequently, that served as Bergeron and co-host Erin Andrews’ last season on the show.

On a 2023 episode of Cheryl Burke’s intimacy, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, he gave more insight into the drama that unfolded behind the scenes forward of his departure.

Admitting that the showrunner and producer had been decided to carry Spicer on despite his warnings, he sought a compromise of taking the season off, but was countered with an offer to let him out of his contract, one thing he admitted: “really pissed me off.”

He also admitted he acquired quite a few complaints about Spicer’s involvement after his assertion, and he knew it signaled the start of the end for him.

“At that moment, I knew this is probably my last season, because of that one betrayal,” he said, “Up until that point, there were people of character there.”