Pixabay A "Dancing With the Stars" live tour cast member was fired.
A member of the “Dancing With the Stars” live tour claims to have been fired from the show. In a series of Instagram posts, the cast member, whose name is Adam Powell, shared some details about his termination. Powell is part of the technical crew and served as the show’s musical editor. He’s been a part of the cast for seven tours.
In a video posted on Instagram on January 27, 2024, Powell revealed the “real reason” that he was fired. He recalled speaking up to the producers about a “couple of concerns” that he had about the show. Powell said that the show was put together last minute and that there were things that still weren’t tested before opening night.
“I think people just got offended, he said. He explained that the show wasn’t ready to begin when it did and admitted to being critical about how things are done season over season. On January 28, 2024, Powell shared another video, further explaining how things go prior to opening night. He said that he didn’t have time to test some of the musical changes that were made “minutes before doors opened.”
“They basically sent a message to our production manager on the road… and she didn’t have a lot of details about why they fired me, but the only reason they actually gave was that there was feedback being given from the dancers about their sound on stage about how sometimes they couldn’t hear certain songs or certain songs were too loud,” Powell told The U.S. Sun.
Heavy has reached out to Powell as well as the “Dancing With the Stars” tour personnel for comment.
Here’s what you need to know:
Adam Powell Called the Reason He Was Given About His Termination ‘Laughable’
When it came to ending Powell’s time on the live show, he claims that he was given a reason that didn’t make sense to him.
“I actually was given one specific reason why I was being fired,” he said in a video published to Instagram on January 27, 2024. “It was a joke, it was an excuse, it wasn’t the truth — it was ridiculous and laughable. But what I was told was is that the dancers were having trouble hearing the music on stage. And that I was given notes about this and I was refusing to make changes,” he continued.
He went on to say that there were a “couple of shows” where the dancers were “having trouble hearing the music.” He also noted that the lighting crew was given even more notes, but no one else was fired.
Powell also detailed working 100 hour weeks for “low” pay.
Fans Have Been Voicing Their Support for Adam Powell on Social Media
Dozens of fans have voiced their support for Powell following his termination. Many have left comments on his Instagram account while others have posted their reactions on Reddit.
“Adam was right to speak out about the lack of preparation bc it was hella obvious. I went pretty early on and its gonna be my last tour for the forseeable future. It was a fine time bc seeing the pros is cool but the actual show is so lazy — no storyline, bad choreo from Mandy, and for me personally, terrible jokes and skits. Other people might find it funny which I respect but it still shouldn’t be used excessively to take up time instead of dancing,” one Redditor wrote on a thread.
“Idk anything about tour prep but I’ve seen clips of this tour and it’s… SO weird. The anatomy of a dance? Having fans on stage? Also I haven’t been amazed by ANY of the choreo I’ve seen. Good for Adam for speaking up,” someone else said.
“If anyone is watching the stories the pros have posted from tonight, the sound is crazy. Rylee commented on how loud it was. And in Alan’s story in their changing room is was 20x louder than it normally is. Normally it’s just like music playing in the background, this time you could barely understand what he was saying over the noise. They really messed up here,” a third comment read.
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