ABC A DWTS pro is hoping his partner doesn't quit.
A “Dancing With the Stars” pro is speaking out amid reports that ABC is considering pushing back the season 32 premiere date.
On September 21, 2023, just days ahead of the scheduled season 32 premiere, Gleb Savchenko attended the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS at the Beverly Hills Hotel where he was asked about Matt Walsh’s exit from the show and how he’s feeling amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
“I mean, it’s crazy,” Savchenko told The Hollywood Reporter.
“This whole thing has been going on for the last couple of days, actually. I’m [a member] of SAG and SAG supports it because we’re an unscripted reality competition television show, so we are good to go. We don’t have any WGA writers; it’s not a written show. We’re never given a script or told what to say or what to do,” he continued.
Here’s what you need to know:
Gleb Savchenko Says His Season 32 Partner Is in a ‘Difficult’ Position
Savchenko has been partnered with Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino for season 32, and they have been rehearsing hard for the upcoming premiere. However, Savchenko says that it’s a really tricky situation given what’s going on.
“She’s very supportive, but at the same time, she is supportive of all the other people who are on strike. She’s in a very difficult situation whether to continue on, which legally she’s allowed to. She’s not breaking any rules. But I really hope, and we’re all praying that they’re going to figure it out, and we’re going to continue on Tuesday,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deadline reported that ABC was “putting plans in place to delay the Sept. 26 premiere” and confirmed that a decision would be announced soon.
In a statement given exclusively to Heavy, longtime DWTS insider Kristyn Burtt weighed in.
“Postponing ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is the right move because the WGA strike is bigger than one person. Even though the celebrities were not in violation of their SAG contract, the optics were bad for crossing a WGA picket line. The show has a beloved WGA writer Dave Boone, who has been with the show since the beginning and is fighting for fair wages, as well as non-union story producers who would like to be recognized for their valuable contributions by the unions,” she explained.
Fans Took to Reddit to Respond to Gleb Savchenko’s Comments
Shortly after The Hollywood Reporter published its interview with Savchenko, some fans took to Reddit to discuss what he said.
“He makes a good point. I’m also surprised to find out he’s in SAG. Overall, if the show must go on, than the show has to go on,” one person wrote.
“Crazy that even Gleb didn’t know about the existence of the WGA writer on staff, I wonder if any of the pros know or is this some dirty little secret the show has been keeping all this time?” someone else questioned.
“The best-case scenario would be a fair deal getting made today. In that case, I would think that the WGA might be okay with something like DWTS going forward even in that week gap while waiting for ratification. It’s been a long, hard summer for a lot of people, and I really hope the studios are serious about making an honest, fair deal this round,” a third Redditor weighed in.
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