Paula Deen reportedly being considered for 'Dancing With the Stars' - Report
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It's been a disastrous week for Paula Deen.
Although she gained some sympathy from the public following her emotional breakdown during an interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show on Wednesday, corporate sponsors were far less charitable.
In rapid succession, Deen was fired by Walmart, Target, QVC, Sears and Kmart, and JC Penney and Walgreens, among many others. Things were so out-of-control that Deen hired her own "Scandal" team to help rehab her public image.
But how does Deen plan on rehabbing that tattered public image? Well, if the rumors reported by Huffington Post are to be believed, a stint on Dancing With the Stars might just be the ticket.
Season 17 of the popular show doesn't premiere until this fall, but Deen is reportedly already being considered for the cast. According to an insider close to the ABC competition series, "The producers would love to have Paula join the cast of next season ... They have a history of casting controversial people like Kate Gosselin and Bristol Palin, if Paula says ‘yes,’ you can add her to that list.”
ABC would neither confirm nor deny the rumors. A spokesperson said, "We don’t comment on casting until we officially announce."
This wouldn't be the first time Deen's name has surfaced in relation to the dance competition. In early 2012, ABC reportedly approached Deen about competing on Season 14 of Dancing With the Stars, in the wake of her announcement that she has Type 2 diabetes. However, Deen turned them down. According to an insider with the show at the time, "'Producers love Paula’s likability and think it would guarantee she’d be around for a couple weeks, regardless.”
If nothing else, a stint on Dancing With the Stars might give Deen some context for what the public currently thinks of her. Because the companies have axed her, they've essentially taken away the barometers for measuring the public reaction to Deen. For example, if Kanye West were to say something stupid, and you wanted to show your disapproval, you would simply choose not to buy his album. As a byproduct, Kanye sees his sales plummet, and he immediately knows that he's on the public's s***list. But when Walmart and Target are refusing to even carry her products, and Ballantine Books is refusing to publish any more copies of her bestseller, then Deen doesn't really have a representative sample of public opinion. She just assumes the public hates her because none of these companies want to be associated with her. And that may not be the case for the general public. Hell, if I had a nickel for every opinion I've read online in the past week about how Paula's supposed crime isn't that big of a deal, I'd have a coin purse so fat you'd think it had eaten her Sour Cream Butter Biscuits.
Deen has not addressed the Dancing With the Stars rumors just yet. But with or without Deen, Season 17 is expected to represent a turning point for the series. For the first time since season two, there will be no results show. In addition, the judging panel is rumored to get an overhaul, with at least one judge expected to be replaced. However, nothing is set in stone, at the moment.
Season 17 of Dancing With the Stars premieres Mondays this fall on ABC.