Dancing With the Stars’ emotional performances are real, honest, and near impossible to fake. The results and voting process, however? Another story.
After being ousted on last Monday’s shocking double elimination, Sean Avery implied that the format was tweaked just to get him off the ABC reality hit.
“I think we knew as of probably Monday last week that our fate was sealed,” the former NHL star said in an interview on Good Morning America.
“I had a conversation with Conrad [Green], one of the producers, and I was upset at the package that they had brought in the week previous.”
“It was a very tacky attempt to show me as the bad boy of DWTS.”
“And I think in reality TV or some sort of competition, if you have a disagreement with the producers then generally that seals your fate quite early.”
The video package that ABC aired featured Avery’s ex, actress Elisha Cuthbert, and a quip of him publicly referring to her as his “sloppy seconds.”
That comment, for which he apologized, landed him in hot water with the NHL in 2008, and Avery was visibly and audibly annoyed on the premiere.
He says his angry call to Green hastened his Dancing With the Stars exit, since all of a sudden, the first elimination of the season was a two-for-one.
In addition to Diana Nyad, who had the lowest vote totals and scores, Sean was sent packing too. Seems a bit convenient the way that worked out, no?
Despite being in the bottom two, Avery and Karina Smirnoff would have been safe had it not been for the surprise kept secret from even the cast and crew.
“Eliminations are based solely on public voting combined with scores from the judges,” ABC told People, denying reports that they rig the show.
The network adds that “the double elimination in week two was planned in advance and producers have no hand in determining who is voted off each week.”
This week’s Dancing With the Stars results featured no such controversy, as Billy Dee Williams took himself out of the running voluntarily due to injury.
What do you think of Sean’s comments? Did they rig the format to get him off the show or is he just grasping at straws because he’s bitter? Discuss.