‘Dancing With The Stars’: Sean Spicer Gives Emotional Tribute to Late Father on Disney Night

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer teared up during Dancing With The Stars Monday night. Spicer dedicated his dance to the Toy Story song “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” to his late father, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2016. Spicer’s emotional performance with pro partner Lindsay Arnold earned him the best score of the season, a 19/30.

During his pre-dance package, Spicer said his family took a trip to Disneyland in 2015 after his father was first diagnosed with cancer.

“We wanted to bring the whole family together for that Disney experience and create a memory that will last forever, not just for me, but for my children as well,” Spicer told Arnold.

Spicer later said the dance was a chance to pay homage to his father, “a great man and great friend, great inspiration.” He called getting to relive the memories he had with his father at Disnelyand “has been truly amazing.”

“This is going to be so much more than a dance for me,” Spicer said. “I’d like to dedicate this dance to my dad and all fathers out there, suffering from cancer, but still being the best dad that they can.”

The dance went off as well as Spicer could have hoped. He became emotional again afterwards, when speaking with Erin Andrews. Andrews asked him how it felt to re-live the experience he previously shared with his father at Disneyland.

“It was a great experience to be able to share that whole experience with my kids and my mother and father… to know that it was actually the ride we went on, so it was kind of cool,” Spicer said.

Spicer’s scores have been improving, and judge Carrie Ann Inaba gave him his first 7 Wednesday night.

“That’s amazing, I mean, to see that kind of growth. I appreciate the critique and she’s been amazing getting me ready every week, over and over again,” Spicer said with Arnold by his side. “I appreciate that the judges have seen that. It means a lot. Their critique helps be get motivated for next week… It’s so cool to get those scores tonight.”

Spicer’s father, Michael William Spicer, died on Dec. 1, 2016 at age 72, according to his obituary.

Spicer has been a controversial member of this season’s DWTS cast, since he served as Press Secretary during the first months of President Donald Trump’s administration. On Monday, Trump asked his Twitter followers to vote for Spicer.

New episodes of Dancing With The Stars air Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC