ABC "Dancing With the Stars" Mirrorball
“Dancing With the Stars” fans are not happy that a beloved professional dancer has not been asked to return for season 31.
Read on to find out which dancer is not on the cast roster and what fans are saying, but BE WARNED OF SPOILERS FOR SEASON 31.
Disney Plus has not officially announced the cast, but “Dancing With the Stars” insider Kristyn Burtt has posted the list of pros, so be warned of spoilers ahead.
Here’s what fans are saying and how the pro has reacted to all of the “Dancing With the Stars” news lately:
‘Dancing With the Stars’ Fans Can’t Believe Keo Motsepe Has Been ‘Demoted’
According to Burtt’s Dance Dish website, the list of pros for season 31 is:
Women
Britt Stewart
Cheryl Burke
Peta Murgatroyd
Emma Slater
Koko Iwasaki
Daniella Karagach
Witney Carson
Men
Val Chmerkovskiy
Alan Bersten
Artem Chigvintsev
Gleb Savchenko
Louis Van Amstel
Brandon Armstrong
Pasha Pashkov
Notable absences from the past two seasons include Keo Motsepe, who was part of season 29; Jenna Johnson, who finished runner-up the past two seasons; and Lindsay Arnold and Sasha Farber, who were both also part of seasons 29 and 30.
Fans on Reddit are very upset about Motsepe not being asked to return for two seasons in a row, especially after his season 27 performance with “Harry Potter” star Evanna Lynch.
“It still blows my mind how they demoted Keo after having such a great season with evanna lynch. Keo deserved so much better,” wrote a poster on Reddit.
Fans Are Still Hoping He’ll Return at Some Point, and Some Are Vowing to Boycott Until He Does
In response to the original poster, fans on Reddit are blasting the show for not keeping Motsepe in the cast, especially in light of both his season with Lynch and his season with Jodie Sweetin. Motsepe finished in 3rd place with Lynch in season 27 and in sixth place in season 22 with Sweetin. Following his season 27 finale finish, he wasn’t even asked back in season 28, then he was also omitted from season 30. In season 29, he placed 13th with Anne Heche, who sadly passed away in August 2022 and whom Motsepe paid tribute to on his Instagram with many videos and photos from their time together on the show.
“Yeah, I still hope he returns some day. He never had a fair chance on this show besides Evanna. And I have a feeling TPTB didn’t expect her to go as far as she did,” wrote one fan.
Another fan hopes he’ll jump across the pond to appear on “Strictly Come Dancing,” writing, “Oh Keo. I remember when he got emotional that he made it so far w Evanna. I hope to see him in ‘Strictly.'”
“I love his smile and attitude. Considering he’s gotten the short end of the stick most of the times he’s been a pro, he always was upbeat,” wrote a third fan. “I still remember watching his IG story when he first met Evanna (before we knew they were partners), and how excited he was. She was a happy surprise. I feel like this show has a minimum quota for diversity and ax anyone else once they reach it.”
A fourth fan called “Dancing With the Star” tacky for the way the show remembered Heche on social media without including Motsepe.
That fan wrote:
It’s absolutely horribe. What I found even more horrible is how they posted Anne on DWTS page and did not use a pic of Keo with her like they have done with other dwts alumis that have passed own along side their partners. It just seems tacky how DWTS has always treated this man, but Keo never says anything, he never throws them under the bus when clearly he could but he keeps always nice. They keep bringing Gleb a** back but rather sit out Keo for the past two seasons when has shown more talent and heart than any Gleb has ever shown.
A fifth fan wrote, “In my opinion, he’s the best male dancer they have. Such a shame he’s not a pro this season.”
One fan thought Motsepe’s omission might be because of his off-stage drama with Chrishell Stause, whom Motsepe dated during season 29 and for a few months after that season wrapped. It was not an amicable break-up and the fan wondered if that had anything to do with it.
On Twitter, one fan vowed not to watch with Motsepe not being in the cast, writing, “I’m not watching ‘Dancing With The Stars’ this year. Keo Motsepe deserves to be in it this year and this is the second consecutive time he’s been cut. Not watching this year.”
A second fan on Twitter echoed that sentiment, writing, “I will not watch because it’s on Disney and Keo is not there. Oh well, I’m not paying for another channel just to Watch DWTS. The show has lost its zeal.”
Other than posting tributes to Heche, Motsepe has been mum about the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” though he still lists “Dancing With the Stars Pro” in his Instagram bio and he has been reposting a lot of “Dancing With the Stars” content to his Instagram stories in late August. Maybe that means he could return some day.
“Dancing With the Stars” returns for its 31st season on Monday, September 19, on Disney Plus.
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