Sean Spicer defends his 'Dancing With the Stars' success: 'If you're looking for the best, this is not the show'
Sean Spicer is just as surprised as everyone else that he has reached the quarterfinals of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The former White House press secretary admitted to Fox News @ Night host Shannon Bream on Thursday that he’s well aware he’s not the strongest dancer in the competition: “There's no question that among the other people left on the show I'm not the best, but I think if you're looking for the best, this is not the show.”
As we’ve previously noted, Spicer, 48, has either had the lowest or second lowest score in all but one dance competition this season, but because he receives so many votes from the public — thanks largely to the urging of his former boss Donald Trump and others in the administration — he has yet to be considered for elimination.
Spicer, now senior adviser at the America First Action super PAC, explains how the show’s voting format allows contestants like him to survive despite being scored unfavorably by judges, “The reality is that it's been this way for 28 seasons and if they like it one way, change the rules. I went into this knowing that I wasn't going to be the best but I wanted to make sure people who thought I was having a good time, making progress could vote for me.”
He continued, “I'm truly humbled that people are saying, 'We want you to continue on,' when I'm clearly not the best guy. I am trying to make as much progress as possible every week. I get it. If you're upset with that, watch a different show or the judges should change the format.”
Spicer’s non-elimination on Monday night’s episode prompted Dancing With the Stars head judge Len Goodman to declare, “We keep throwing you out the boat, and the viewers keep throwing you a life preserver.” Despite this and similar sentiments, Spicer says judges Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli have recognized his efforts to improve over the course of the season, “I've worked hard every single day to go out there and try to get better. And I that I'm making progress. The judges even acknowledged that.”
And Spicer is under no delusion about his dancing talents, saying, "The idea that I'm on a dancing show in the quarterfinals is pretty unbelievable."
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