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Professional dancer Cheryl Burke has a celebrity in mind for “Dancing With the Stars” season 30 — and it’s a familiar face for ABC reality fans because Zac Clark is the most recent winner of “The Bachelorette.” Here’s what Clark had to say about going on “Dancing With the Stars” season 30.
Burke Said It Could Be a Great Platform For His Cause
Fans of “The Bachelorette” know that Clark is a recovering addict whose work now centers around helping other people who struggle with addiction. On Burke’s podcast “Pretty Messed Up,” which she co-hosts with AJ McLean and Rene Elizondo, they all had a frank discussion about how “Dancing With the Stars” is a great platform for spreading the message — all of the hosts are also recovering addicts.
“What I’m thinking is that just to continue to spread this awareness, I think, is awesome for you to — I’m going to be your manager now — to do stuff like this,” said Burke to Clark, who was not actually familiar with what “Dancing With the Stars” is all about.
“It’s a ballroom dance show and you have people like us, professional dancers, teach you how to cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, jive, and many more in less than a week and you go out there and you’re competing against other contestants, like your soon-to-be wife maybe, would possibly do it, who knows? And you’re learning how to ballroom dance in about four days and you put on something glittery and shake your a**,” Burke explained.
But McLean, who partnered with Burke for the most recent “Dancing With the Stars” season, added that he felt like the show was a “great opportunity” to spread his message about addiction and recovery.
“It’s an amazing platform … to be able to spread awareness,” said McLean. “One of our routines that we did, which was the rumba, I dedicated to anyone out there dealing with addiction. It was a beautiful performance, showing through dance where I was and where I ended up. It is a great opportunity for people to spread awareness for whatever they’re working on.”
“After AJ explained it, how do you say no?” said Clark, adding that he wants to keep saying yes to these kinds of opportunities.
“Ten years ago I had a needle in my arm, and now I’m sitting here talking to you guys about all these crazy experiences. That doesn’t happen to just anyone,” said Clark. He also asked if McLean and Burke won their season and they said, alas, no, they did not. But Burke said that Clark, who showed off an impressive frame during their podcast recording, could be the first bachelor winner.
“You could be the first bachelor to win! Because the bachelors who come on this show, they have two left feet, but the bachelorettes, they rock it,” said Burke, adding, “See you on the dance floor.”
For more information about Clark’s Release Recovery program, check out the website here.
Clark Also Revealed That He Wants Kids (Though Not Necessarily Right This Minute)
Clark won Tayshia Adams’ heart on the most recent season of “The Bachelorette” and they are still going strong, though no date for an upcoming wedding has been set or anything like that. But when asked if he wants to be a father, Clark said he does… now. He struggled with that when he was struggling with addiction.
“Yeah, I want kids … at a younger age, I always wanted to be a dad and I kind of lost that and it came back recently,” said Clark.
He also said that being in the public eye recently has heightened his profile and while it’s great that it has shined a light on Release Recovery, he also has to be careful not to lose himself in helping other people.
“Where I gotta be a little graceful on myself is I can’t be everything to everyone … ’cause I’ll forget about myself,” said Clark.
“Dancing With the Stars” has not yet officially been renewed for season 30, but if ABC does renew it, expect it to premiere in September 2021. “The Bachelorette” returns this spring with its 17th season and again in the fall for its 18th season.
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