ABC/Eric McCandless
A well-known athlete has said that you couldn’t pay him enough to go on “Dancing With the Stars.” Several times, racecar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he will never appear on the popular dancing competition show, not even “for a million dollars.”
There Was a Rumor Years Ago He Was on The Shortlist
Back in 2017, Hollywood Life reported that an insider told them Earnhardt Jr. was high on their list of celebrities they wanted to cast.
“The show really wants to make a splash and they really want to get some major sports stars on next season and the top two on their list are Colin Kaepernick and Dale Earnhardt. Dale is retiring from NASCAR and they have wanted him for years and have asked forever for him to dance on the show,” said the source at the time.
Earnhardt Jr. responded to a tweet about the story with a funny GIF refuting the notion he’d ever go on the show, then he followed it up with a statement at the media day for an Appreci88ion charity event in Las Vegas.
“That’s never going to happen,” said Earnhardt Jr. (via NASCAR.com). “I promise you. There’s nothing in this world that would be able to get me out on the dance floor.”
He was later asked if he would do it for a hefty donation to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which was the organization the charity event was for. He said, “I would match [the donation] just to stay off the dance floor. I’d be willing to do a lot of things. That’s not one of them, I can promise you.”
He Was Later Asked Again and Said Not For A Million Dollars
A few years later on his podcast, Earnhardt and fellow NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney were talking about having to do press events and interviews you don’t necessarily want to do.
Blaney said he doesn’t mind most of it because “it helps the sport” and they are “usually fun opportunities.” But he drew the line at a blind dating show he was asked to appear on.
Earnhardt Jr. said that’s “Dancing With the Stars” for him: “I wouldn’t do it for a million dollars.”
Earnhardt Jr.’s co-host Mike Davis added that NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip really “messed that up for everybody.”
“If you had any ideas like I can go [on ‘Dancing With the Stars’] and not look like a fool, but then you got Michael wearing a bikini and it’s like you know what? I’m not gonna do that,” said Davis.
Waltrip, a fellow NASCAR driver, competed on “Dancing With the Stars” season 19 alongside professional partner Emma Slater. He actually didn’t do too badly, finishing in seventh place and outlasting six other celebrities.
Helio Castroneves is another race car driver who competed on “Dancing With the Stars.” He was an IndyCar driver, not NASCAR, but either way, he won season five alongside Julianne Hough. And in season 23, Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe placed second with Sharna Burgess, so maybe Earnhardt Jr. shouldn’t be so hasty.
“Dancing With the Stars” season 30 will premiere in the fall of 2021.
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