--- title: Dancing With the Stars Is De-Politicizing Sean Spicer description: The danger in casting Spicer isn't that he could politicize the show; it's that the show will help to de-politicize Spicer. canonical: https://time.com/5678844/sean-spicer-dancing-with-the-stars-premiere/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-17T11:24:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:52.033Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Sean Spicer Was an Extremely Good Sport on Dancing With the Stars. That's the Whole Problem og:description: He used to be a disgraced political operative. Now, he's a "star." og:url: https://time.com/5678844/sean-spicer-dancing-with-the-stars-premiere/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a44d3c45d39ba20/698a02f9db2987835e2642c7/153328_em1_3087.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: LINDSAY ARNOLD, SEAN SPICER og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sean Spicer Was an Extremely Good Sport on Dancing With the Stars. That's the Whole Problem twitter:description: He used to be a disgraced political operative. Now, he's a "star." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a44d3c45d39ba20/698a02f9db2987835e2642c7/153328_em1_3087.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sean Spicer Was an Extremely Good Sport on _Dancing With the Stars_. That's Exactly the Problem > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Sean Spicer's Greatest Hits [Watch (HLS stream): Sean Spicer's Greatest Hits](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fvh1mgxB.m3u8) (4:59)  _Published 2017-05-30. The Sean Spicer show is back after a brief hiatus. The White House press secretary is set to resume his daily press briefing Tuesday afternoon, after taking a break during President Trump's first trip abroad._  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Sep 17, 2019 11:24 AM UTC  Sean Spicer with dancer Lindsay Arnold on 'Dancing With the Stars' Sean Spicer with dancer Lindsay Arnold on 'Dancing With the Stars' Eric McCandless/ABC  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Sep 17, 2019 11:24 AM UTC Sean Spicer didn’t have much to say on Monday’s season premiere of ABC’s _Dancing With the Stars_. For the most part, the former White House Press Secretary turned memoirist, [super-PAC spokesman](https://time.com/5312268/sean-spicer-america-first-super-pac/) and now [controversial reality TV contestant](https://time.com/5658591/sean-spicer-dancing-with-the-stars-2019/)—who couldn’t open his mouth during his calamitous six-month stint in the Trump Administration without sticking a foot in it—let his costume do the talking. And it was _loud_. Clad in a shiny, ruffly, chest-baring chartreuse shirt, Spicer shimmied gamely into the show’s Art-Deco-camp studio at the beginning of the episode. Though he spent the first hour and 45 minutes of the two-hour premiere hovering in the back of group shots, his face obscured but bits of his flammable-looking top glistening tackily under the lights, it was clear from the moment he made his entrance that Spicer would be playing the role of the good sport. After raising eyebrows last month by [publicly lamenting](https://twitter.com/Tom%5FBergeron/status/1164199118165729281) a new executive producer’s decision to book “divisive” celebrities “from ANY party affiliation,” host Tom Bergeron kept any lingering frustration over Spicer’s presence well concealed. And the rest of the cast followed suit. For her part, his dance partner Lindsay Arnold poked fun at his limited skills (“He definitely isn’t a natural”) but maintained that she was “looking forward to forming \[her\] own opinion” about Spicer as a person. He grinned his way through the judges’ good-natured ribbing and gratefully praised Arnold for her attempts at whipping him into shape. The show did—briefly and cagily—address the backlash to his casting in the rehearsal montage that preceded his debut performance, a salsa number set to the Spice Girls hit “Spice Up Your Life” that opened with the political operative pounding bongos and closed with him executing a knee slide that looked painful. Alongside clips of innocuous briefing room gaffes, Spicer admitted that his time in Washington was “tumultuous,” fretted that Americans had gotten a “one-dimensional” view of his personality and confessed that dancing in front of an audience of millions was even more intimidating than facing the media. Responding to a [tweet](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1164675742984224768?lang=en) in which Trump cheered Spicer’s casting, Spicer basked awkwardly in the glow of his former boss’s approval: “It’s nice to have the leader of the free world on your side.” On the whole, Spicer came off as humble and self-aware but far from contrite—a triumph of image rehab without accountability. His success is more than a little infuriating when you remember—though of course he would prefer that you forgot—that the original controversy surrounding him wasn’t just partisan noise. The problem with a primetime dance competition giving Spicer a platform to burnish his reputation isn’t that he holds conservative views; it’s that he helped normalize practices, from his invention and repetition of [obvious falsehoods](https://time.com/5088900/sean-spicer-screwed-up-inauguration-hitler/) to his antagonistic relationship with the press, that were previously beyond the pale for American politics. When Spicer appeared on the Emmys in 2017, just a few months after leaving the White House, former Obama Administration speechwriter David Litt [called his comeback](https://time.com/4946406/sean-spicer-emmys-comedy/) “an I’m-getting-away-with-it-right-now-because-I-let-the-American-people-down-and-you’re-applauding-me-for-it tour.” Two years later, that tour rolls on. Bergeron needn’t have worried that the former press secretary would inject Republican talking points into _DWTS_ or do anything else to jeopardize what the host described as a “joyful respite from our exhausting political climate.” (Personally, I would describe the experience of sitting through the two-hour broadcast as more “excruciating” than “joyful.”) The danger in casting Spicer isn’t that he could politicize the show; it’s that, with each episode, the show will help to de-politicize Spicer. The more we watch him ham it up in funny costumes, the more we’ll forget what he did. The shameful details of his legacy will fade from our collective memory, merging into an undifferentiated mass of late-2010s cultural curiosities. Once, he was the press secretary notorious for practicing casual Holocaust denial, justifying the President’s position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the absurd claim that Adolf Hitler “[didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons](https://time.com/4735224/sean-spicer-hitler-chemical-weapons-transcript/)” against his own people. Now—like cast mates James Van Der Beek, Karamo from _Queer Eye_ and Supremes legend Mary Wilson—we know him simply as a “star.” ## Transcript Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way to minimise the enormous support that had gathered on the National mall. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration period. Good afternoon everyone. Welcome back. I can sense the love in the room. Yes, I believe that we have to be honest with the American people. I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. I mean just the other day, he sat down with Martin Luther King Jr. I would call him a civil rights leader. His dad was the civil rights leader. Sean, Sean I have a couple more questions- You get one more. That's a ridic, you're basically, okay Kristen we're going to end this right now. Hunter, Hunter, no. And then, this one is the, I've got the '13 here as well or the 2017. It is literally 100 % the same. Well, first of all, it's not a travel ban. He's using the words that the media is using, but at the end of the day, it can't, hold on, hold on, hold on. It can't be. It's his words. The President himself Called it a ban. I understand. Is he confused or are you confused? No, I'm not confused. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Okay, this is silly. Okay, next. Attack on- Okay, you don't get to just yell out questions. We're gonna raise our hand like big boys and girls. This is government, this is not, and I think that part of the reason the visual is important is that when you actually look at the difference You realize this is what big government does . >> Just gonna say here your pin �� s upside down. John Roberts is always helping me with the fashion tips. Its still upside down. Dont make me make that podium move. [ LAUGHTER ] I have heard this stuff. No, no, hold on- no evidence of wiretapping at Trump Tower so now you �� ve had the House Intelligence Commitee and the the Senate Intelligence Commitee - >> no, no actually here is this quote Johnathan. No, here is the direct quote I thin it's very possible end quote. When we talked about wiretapping, he meant surveillance. [ CROSSTALK ] For a guy who has zero intelligence class. [ LAUGH ] [ CROSSTALK ] Does the President still have complete confidence in FBI Director Comey? There's no reason to believe he doesn't at this time. But even General Flynn was a volunteer of the campaign, and then obviously there's been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role. Was the White House aware of any contacts between Paul Manafort and Russian operatives or suspected Russian operatives? No [ INAUDIBLE ] Well first I think your headlines are bad. I'm glad to rewrite, I'd be glad to if you'd like, if you guys are looking for some help. Are you looking for a job? Does the President stand by statement that President Obama is a bad or sick guy? I think the president's tweets stand for themselves. I think there's a huge appetite for tax return, tax reform. No, no we don't have that. You've got Russia. If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a Russian connection. I'm sorry that that disgusts you. You're shaking your head. I appreciate it but understand this, that at some point, the facts are what they are, and every single person who has been briefed on this situation With respect to the situation with Russia, Republican, Democrat, Obama- appointee, career have all come to the same conclusion. At some point, April, you're going to have to take no for an answer, with respect to whether or not there was collusion. April. I wanna thank you, Sean. How are you today? I'm fine. And how are you? Fantastic. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] the answer is that if you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb into innocent people. I think you will see a response from this president. That is unacceptable. Someone as despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. I think I got this but thank you. Are you sure? Maybe. Alright, thanks man, I'll see you in a minute. [ LAUGH ] Hold on. Alright, that was cool. [ LAUGH ] Alright, that was cool. [ LAUGH ] Sean! Sean! Sean! Sean! Sean! Come on, Sean! Sean! What about the Putin call? Sean! Sit right here, wait, no one leaves. No one leaves, sit. Let's see, sit and wait. Let's see. [ CROSSTALK ] considering canceling the daily press briefings? I think he's a little dismayed, as well as a lot of people, that we come out here and try to do everything we can to provide you and the American people with what he's doing on their behalf. and yet, we see time and time again an attempt to parse every little word and make it more of a game of " gotcha" as opposed to really Figure out what the policies are? Why something is being pursued or what the update is on this and I think that's where there's a lot of dismay and I don't thin is something just alone the president feels. 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