‘Dancing With the Stars’: Sean Spicer to Waltz off With Hefty Six-Figure Deal

Sean Spicer’s controversial casting on Season 28 of Dancing With the Stars will net the former White House press secretary a hefty six-figure salaries, multiple sources confirmed to Variety after Wednesday’s cast announcement on Good Morning America.

The outlet reports that contestants on the ABC dance competition show make a base of $125,000 for the rehearsal period ahead of the premiere and the first two weeks of airing. Beyond week three, contestants can win an additional amount, with the maximum coming in at $295,000. The White House listing of Spicer’s salary from 2017 records him making just $180,000 prior to being let go from President Donald Trump’s administration.

ABC’s decision to cast Spicer was met with intense backlash from people furious the network would give more air time to the infamous former press secretary, including from host Tom Bergeron.

In a note on social media, Bergeron wrote that he met with the new executive producer ahead of the casting for Season 28 under the impression it would be “a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”

“I left that lunch convinced we were in agreement,” he wrote. However, “a decision was made to, as we often say in Hollywood, ‘go in a different direction.’”

Bergeron made it clear he was not supportive of casting Spicer, writing, “It is the prerogative of the producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call. I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.”

“For me, as host, I always gaze into the camera’s lens and imagine you on the other side, looking for a two hour escape from whatever life hassles you’ve been wrestling with. That’s a connection, and a responsibility, which I take very seriously, even I occasionally season it with dad jokes,” he continued. “Hopefully, when [co-host] Erin Andrews and I look into those lenses again on September 16, you’ll be on the other side looking back, able to enjoy the charismatic pro dancers, the unpredictable judges and the kitschy charm that has denied DWTS since 2005.”

Spicer, meanwhile, responded somewhat neutrally to The Blast when asked about Bergeron’s comments, saying, “Tom’s been a great host to this show for 28 seasons. This show is a great opportunity to be an example, how we can have better dialogue and respectfully learn from each other. I would hope by the end of the show Tom looks at this as more of an opportunity to help reach the divide that exists right now.”

Dancing With the Stars Season 28 debuts Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Planet Hollywood International, Getty