Jamie Lynn Spears was announced as the latest celebrity to join the cast of Dancing With the Stars season 32 and fans are not too thrilled about it. On September 12, the actress appeared on Good Morning America to make the announcement, where she was joined by Alan Bersten, the pro dancer who will be her partner this season.
“I don’t know if one can ever be 100% ready to take on something this big; I didn’t realize what a commitment it is, but it definitely is. I’m ready to challenge myself,” Spears, 32, shared on the show. She also revealed that she’d be donating her salary to SAG-AFTRA and WGA amid the unions’ ongoing strikes. “While everybody else in my community is on strike, I have this unique opportunity where I was offered a chance to work when my community cannot work,” she said. “So, I figured I’ll do this and I will donate my weekly salary… to just give back to them at a time where they can’t give back to themselves.”
Bersten revealed during the GMA appearance that their rehearsals were going well and described his season 32 partner as “so hardworking” and “so dedicated.” The full cast will be revealed on GMA on September 13.
For now, many fans are fuming with not only Spears’ casting on DWTS given the actress’ rocky past with her older sister Britney Spears, but with her pairing with Bersten. One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “So now that she can’t spend Britney s money, she has to go out and work for it. I feel bad for Alan 😭😭😭.” Someone else commented, “Poor Alan he got problematic people 2 seasons in row but at least she will be able to dance ig?😭” Bersten was paired with country singer Jessie James Decker during season 31, and she was not well-loved by fans (at least, according to the DWTS sub-Reddit).
In fact, it wasn’t just fans who sounded off on the casting choice, as season 30 contestant Cody Rigsby commented on the casting announcement, “booooooooooooooo!!!!!!!” He added in the replies to his comment, which garnered over 2,000 likes, “don’t get me wrong it’s great casting. We love drama, but boo.”
A lot of the criticism from fans was due to Spears’ tension with her famous sibling Britney Spears during the latter’s lengthy battle to end the conservatorship. The Grammy-winning singer hit out at her younger sister’s decision to write a memoir about their family and called her “scum” in an Instagram post, E! News reported at the time. In June 2023, it appeared the sisters were working toward reconciliation as the “Toxic” singer visited her younger sister on set, which she shared on Instagram.
Despite that, the decision to cast the controversial actress on Dancing With the Stars just two seasons after they honored her older sister with Britney Spears night left a bad taste in many fans’ mouths. Time will tell how long Spears stays in the competition as her scores will be based on a mix of her performance and votes from fans, and many have already revealed in comments that they hope she’ll be the first voted out.
Published: Sep 12, 2023 03:13 pm