How Has Sean Spicer Lasted This Long on Dancing With the Stars?

Definitely not by dancing well!

sean spicer dancing with the stars
Surprise, Spicer's success has little to do with his dancing.
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

I’ve never watched Dancing With the Stars. I do, however, catch occasional, muted glimpses of the show Monday nights when it plays on the TVs at my gym, which means that every Monday night for the past eight weeks, I’ve glimpsed Sean Spicer looking vaguely ridiculous in some outrageous outfit, and every week I’m surprised to learn the man has managed to dance his way onto yet another episode.

Apparently I’m not the only one who’s confused, and I’m in good company. New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas is also baffled by Spicer’s continued presence on the show, airing her frustrations Tuesday after Spicer managed to survive yet another week, despite losing a dance-off to Kate Flannery, who was ultimately voted off.

“Mr. Spicer’s staying power has little to do with his performances,” wrote Kourlas. “Over the past eight weeks, he has been the weakest dancer on the show. His low scores from the judges have borne that out.”

Despite those low scores, however, Spicer has never found himself in the bottom two thanks to consistent, if surprising, audience popularity.

This, Kourlas suggested, likely says much more about the show’s viewers than it does about either Spicer or his dancing. As Kourlas pointed out, voters have consistently put black contestants at the bottom of the pack this season including Mary Wilson, Ray Lewis, Lamar Odom and Karamo Brown — while noted Trump favorite Spicer continues to thrive among voters.

Kourlas isn’t offering a particularly bold take when she says Spicer isn’t a good dancer. Most of his fans probably wouldn’t even argue that point. His popularity has nothing to do with dancing.

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