Dancing with the Stars welcomes Bachelor jilt-ee, angers North Texas couple for other reasons
03/10/09 11:32 AM
By ED BARK
Jilted reality show contestants don't fade away. They instead segue into another competition on the same network.
Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Rycroft, famously two-timed on ABC's The Bachelor, resurfaced Monday night as a two-stepper on the network's eighth edition of Dancing with the Stars.
After just two days of practice together, Rycroft and waltzing pro partner Tony Dovolani racked up a score of 23 to rank second-best for the night. So how hard can it be, even if she's previously had ballet training?
Rycroft replaced sycophantic Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O'Dell, who suffered a leg injury during her prep time with Dovolani. Another announced contestant, Jewel, also went down before the judges could begin counting. Holly Madison, a Playboy poser and former three-way girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, stepped in for Jewel and managed a score of 18 for her cha cha cha with Dmitry Chaplin.
An ABC press release praised Rycroft for "mustering up the courage to move on" and Madison for "the courage she personified by answering the call to action at a moment's notice." No, you can't make these things up.
Meanwhile, at least two viewers, Elon and Jennifer Werner of Cedar Hill, TX, say they've sworn off Dancing because it's gotten too blue for their nine-year-old daughter to watch. They sent a protesting letter to ABC Entertainment Group president Stephen McPherson Monday night while also emailing a copy to unclebarky.com.
The Werners particularly were offended by the references to Madison and Jackass movie star Steve-O. In part, here's what they wrote to ABC:
"For the past seven seasons, my family has enjoyed watching Dancing with the Stars. That streak ended tonight. It was too hard to explain what Jackass was, what Playboy was, and what a number of the other off-hand and off-color remarks were to our nine-year-old daughter, who has been a passionate DWTS fan for the past three seasons. Abby is in her sixth year of dance lessons herself and she really looked forward to each new season. She watched her last installment of Dancing with the Stars tonight.
"I understand the TV business is extremely competitive, but one way to crush your competition is to offer TV viewers an alternative to most of the other junk that is on TV . . . I also understand the TV rating system and saw the TV-PG rating; my question for you to ponder is, 'Why did it have to be TV-PG?' Does it have to have that edge? DWTS has held its own for years without all the off-color remarks and the suggestive content. Seriously, we get that Steve-O was on a TV show called Jackass. You don't have to tell us every two seconds.
"We are not prudes by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately we were hoping Dancing with the Stars would be a nice show for the family to enjoy together. Sadly, we were wrong. This may be the only letter like this you receive, but I hope that you take its message to heart."
The Elons make some good points, particularly regarding Steve-O. DWTS didn't particularly dwell on Madison's Playboy portfolio, but did manage to make a Jackass of itself on several occasions.
Judge Len Goodman first riffed, "You didn't come out and jackass about" after Steve-O completed his waltz with Lacey Schwimmer.
Co-host Samantha Harris then asked him, "Some people who are watching might be surprised to see a jackass on Dancing with the Stars. Why did you want to take part?"
"Well," said Steve-O, "I just wanted to put my foot in the waltz's butt. Yeah!"
This apparently amused co-host Tom Bergeron, who later repeated Steve-O's "waltz's butt" line before deducing, "It's not just entertainment. It's poetry."
The Elons' letter likely won't get much of a response from ABC. Why should the network care after DTWS racked up its usual big Nielsen ratings in D-FW and nationally Monday night? And in truth, the show's scantily clad women have been a staple of the show from its start, which might prompt uncomfortable anatomical questions from pre-pubescent males and females alike.
Still, the Elons make some valid points on behalf of their pre-teen daughter. You'd like to think that kids would be able to watch a dancing competition without being subjected to the likes of Steve-O or, for that matter, contestant Lil' Kim. On Monday night, she nearly spilled out of her costume while dedicating her first dance to the inmates with whom she recently shared a cell after being convicted of lying to a grand jury about a nightclub shooting incident.
That pretty much makes her a role model.