‘Dancing With the Stars’ Refutes Claims by ‘Orange is The New Black’ Star Taryn Manning on Joining Show

Orange Is the New Black star Taryn Manning previously claimed that she was asked to do Dancing With the Stars “many times.” She even said that she has a “weird phobia” about appearing on the show because she believes that it would take her into “has-been” status, per Page Six. However, the ABC series is now setting the record straight on the matter by refuting Manning’s claims.

While shooting a video to promote Gita, a rolling robot that can carry your stuff to help you with daily tasks, Manning claimed that DWTS had asked her to appear on the show. The actor discussed the various projects that she’s been working on, which is when she revealed her claims about the dancing competition. She said, “I’ve been asked to be on Dancing With the Stars many times. I have this weird phobia that [competing on the show] means you’re a has-been, and I never want to believe that’s the case.” Manning added in the clip, “Maybe it’s my own stuff, but, yeah, I’m definitely a good dancer.”

A source close to DWTS has since refuted Manning’s claims, telling Page Six that the actor has never been formally asked to compete on the show. On the other hand, they claimed that Manning’s reps have actually reached out to them. “Taryn claims she’s been asked to join the cast ‘many times,’ however, we have never asked Taryn to be part of the show,” the source said. “Her representation attempted to pitch her to us a while back and we kindly passed. So her claim that she was asked to join DWTS once, never mind many times, is completely false.” The source also addressed the fact that Manning referred to the contestants on DWTS as “has-beens.” They said, “Her thoughts that the contestants consist of ‘has-beens’ seems to be her own projection onto talent that we have asked to cast.”

In the past, celebrities such as Wendy Williams, James Van Der Beek, and Debbie Gibson have all appeared on DWTS. The current season of DWTS, which is hosted by Tyra Banks, also includes a star-studded line-up. The cast includes Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, former football player Vernon Davis, Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause, and rapper Nelly. The series airs on Monday nights on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.