I'm a huge fan of Dancing ...
Question: I'm a huge fan of
Dancing with the Stars. However, I need to vent. I have no problem with an 82-year-old woman being a participant of
DWTS. I like old people — I am one myself. However, can you please get a message to Cloris Leachman for me? Tell her that I am embarrassed for her. Not because of her age, not because of her dancing skill, but because of her sophomoric actions that are not funny. People are not laughing with her, Matt, they are laughing at her. A funny person can also act smart and inspiring. An 82-year-old person can still have fun, dance, sing, laugh, entertain and be an active part of the world. A funny person doesn't have to try too hard, and Ms. Leachman is trying too hard. I believe that she is extremely desperate for as much attention as possible. I imagine that ABC is doing anything they can to keep her on the air in an effort to get more seniors to watch. We're watching, and ABC and
DWTS both are actively embarrassing an actress who at one time was a TV icon. They should be ashamed of themselves. If they are continuing the Leachman lunacy because they think it is getting viewers, they are mistaken. This show of bad taste is losing viewers. Whoever Cloris Leachman turns to for advice should tell her to stop acting like the village idiot. Thanks, Matt, for letting me vent. I'll keep reading TV Guide for all the up-to-date information on
DWTS, but I won't be able to watch ABC or support their sponsors until Ms. Leachman is off the show and they get back to dancing.
Answer: First off, don't fool yourself that ABC is doing anything to drum up business among the seniors. Nothing against them — some of my best friends and family members, etc. — but that demographic, you may have heard, isn't exactly advertiser-friendly, more's the pity. The issue, though, is Cloris, isn't it? She killed at the Bob Saget roast. (Watch her on YouTube.) She rocked the house on
Dancing with the Stars' opening night, milking the comedy with her shameless interaction with the judges. Moments never to be forgotten in the
DWTS annals. It doesn't surprise me to hear that some of her peer group, and I'm sure it doesn't stop there, are more embarrassed than amused by her antics, and the shtick is getting a bit tired, I'll agree. But this bit of stunt casting came with the acknowledgement that she's a loose cannon, and she has more than lived up to that reputation so far. I get a kick out of
Dancing, but I tend to look at the show as one long grin, and there's room for at least one clown per season, at least for a while. She may not be dancing as much as being led around the stage, but she is putting on a performance (which is more than you could ever say about the dreadful Kim Kardashian). We are getting close to the point where if Cloris's gimmicky popularity keeps her on the show much longer, it will be at the expense of contestants with actual talent, and that will be a true point of contention. But doesn't it feel good to get this off your chest?
