Sean Spicer's Dancing with the Stars casting is a cynical ratings grab: ABC loves the negative publicity

Variety

The negative reaction to the former White House press secretary's casting, overwhelmingly negative though it may be, is exactly why he was cast in the first place, says Caroline Framke. "Even if viewers don’t stick with Spicer week to week (and who knows how long he’ll actually last), there will inevitably be a burst of initial curiosity to boost the premiere ratings," says Framke. "The number of headlines surrounding his mere casting — yes, including this one — guarantee an outsized amount of interest in a season whose biggest cast members otherwise include James Van Der Beek and a Bachelorette. To give the producers an extraordinary benefit of the doubt, they may be a little confused about why Spicer’s any different from other controversial figures they’ve included before, most notably Tucker Carlson (albeit in his less odious 2006 iteration) and Bristol Palin (twice). The crucial difference that they and (host Tom) Bergeron (whose statement spoke vaguely of not wanting the show to indulge in 'inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations') either fail to understand or refuse to acknowledge is that Spicer’s previous life as a professional liar should really disqualify him from public life, period."

ALSO:

• This is one time when we should get uptight: "Dancing With the Stars is just a silly, innocuous reality show, that’s true. And that’s exactly why it shouldn’t be helping Sean Spicer dry-clean his reputation," says James Poniewozik. He adds: "Enter Dancing With the Stars to present him as a good sport who can laugh at himself, who is out there willing to try some dance moves and maybe look silly and hey, can’t we all just let bygones be bygones? Now, look: It’s not as if reality shows cast only paragons of honesty. But this is not simply a matter of Sean Spicer’s having lied. It’s a matter of Sean Spicer’s being a liar, professionally. That is, he’s not a famous person who happened to do something dishonest. He is a person who is famous — singularly, even in an era of 'alternative facts' — for spreading disinformation, about the inauguration, about the president’s claims that he was wiretapped by the previous administration, about Michael Flynn’s resignation. At least publicly, dishonesty is his brand."
• Dancing will pay Spicer more than his White House salary if he makes it to Week 3