PureDWTS POLL: Can Voters Move On From Jaleel White’s Abuse Accusations & Blow Up With Kym Johnson?
Good Morning America went into the rehearsals of Kym Johnson and Jaleel White. Cameron Mathison questioned Jaleel straight up on the abuse accusations from his ex girlfriend and his relationship and the blow up with Kym Johnson as they ready for their Tango tonight. “Is their smoke where there is fire?”, asks Cameron. Jaleel says yes and no. He blames the internet for exploiting everything. He won’t answers questions on his ex-girlfriend, but, he says everything is fine with Kym and she supports him. They shower her with cupcakes, etc.. More in detail below….
So, what do you think? Can voters move on from what happened last week with Jaleel’s blow up with Kym and the recent abuse accusations? I know I can’t. Take our Poll below for what you feel….
UPDATE: Below is Jaleel on Ryan Seacrest this morning as well….
UPDATE#2: You can view an exclusive interview with Jaleel’s ex-girlfriend at ET here. Wow!
i don’t know why..his attitude doesn’t say the same thing as his mouth…i believe his ex is trying to steal some spot light and some money…but his reaction and the way he speaks…are not very good advocates for him…
I ticked other because I didn’t like him from the get go, so… I don’t know if I’m moving on or just continuing on. 🙂
Anyway… I think, my opinion, is that Jaleel’s a douchebag and I’m more prone to believe many of the accusations than not. His behavior reminds me far too much of my ex-husband, the shifting of blame away from himself, the circling around the actual issue, the something’s not right expression on his face. I don’t care HOW good the guy dances, I wish he was gone. He makes me very, very uncomfortable.
No. I was really excited about Kym and Jaleel at the beginning. But as a woman who survived an abusive relationship, I have to admit that even the hint of it turned me against him – and there are so many red flags in the confessionals/packages/interviews and even his attitude in the last dance – not to mention the fake tears and mega-ego – that there seems to be more to this than over-reaction. I know it is unkind of me to feel that he is guilty without proof, but personally, I just don’t want to expend any more energy thinking about him. I really hope he gets the boot.
I’m with you, Elara…. he still didn’t take ownership for his part in whatever happened, but at this point, it just doesn’t matter anymore. The story is still kicking around after a week – and that, to me, pretty much defines a PR disaster. I’ve already “flipped the Bozo bit” on him, and moved on.
You know what? I’ll be very honest….
I don’t think anything at all happened. I think US Weekly made up the whole thing and because the news was already out before last week’s episode started, the producers just told Jaleel, Kym and Mark to go along with it as if the disagreement really did happen. You might notice that Jaleel kept changing the story about what really happened. It was like as if it didn’t happen at all. I don’t think other news sources checked and chatted with producers and I think they just copied what US Weekly said then made up some other stories. The only story I heard coming out of Jaleel’s mouth was when Kym didn’t understand who Stefan was and that was after that story was published. I think the producers and his PR, agent or manager are just telling him what to tell the media now that the US Weekly published it. It makes US Weekly look bad if everyone said that absolutely nothing happened at all and it also makes the show look bad and less dramatic. The producers are always looking for drama and will do anything for ratings and they’ll go along with the media if that’s what it takes. The ratings aren’t good this season so they have to do something to put more drama in and they decided to put more in right after the ex-girlfriend came out with the abuse accusations. Jaleel denied it all and the media think that’s not enough buzz so they come up with this “fight” between him and Kym. The news come out like Jaleel and Kym were having the worst fight DWTS have had then suddenly, they get along great like nothing happened. I think the whole thing is crap and the cast of DWTS were told to go along with it and say, “yeah, things happened but it’s fine now.” No details on “Good Morning America” as they said in the preview before about the fight. No fight was aired last Monday. I don’t think any of this would’ve happened if US hadn’t decided to publish such rubbish.
As for Jaleel’s attitude or whatever people don’t like about him, I found it interesting that many loved him in the first place then when this stuff came out, many now hate him. I don’t know if that was what the US Weekly wanted people to do. The media manipulate people all the time. Make people love and hate the celebs and they’ll do anything to make that happen. I guess US Weekly for some reason do not like Jaleel. Could be because of the ex-girlfriend’s abuse allegations and now they’re trying to make him look bad by making up this fight. For some people it worked, but not for me.
I’m not all for Jaleel just because I like Kym and want her to go far. I wouldn’t want her to stay if she was being abused or mistreated. If Jaleel was abusing or mistreating her, I’d want him out but I’d also want evidences but I see none and GMA not getting Jaleel to explain the fight in details as they promised in the preview makes me question that the fight really happened at all. How anyone is treated is more important than the competition. I have found couple of others Kym had on the show that I didn’t like so much either but I like to look at everything without judgements, without taking sides with an open mind and I don’t believe everything I read.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. It’s a new week, new dance and new everything. It’s just how I felt.
Liz, you haven’t been reading Heidi’s ratings posts this season, have you? https://www.puredwts.com/dancing-with-the-stars-search-results/?cx=partner-pub-1335543487067452%3Ag5l336-vhec&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=ratings+watch&sa=Search&siteurl=www.puredwts.com%2F&ref=www.puredwts.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fedit.php
Also, I”ve never thought everyone loved Jaleel from the beginning. I was never wild about the guy. But, let’s suppose your assumptions are true that “everyone” loved him at first, don’t people have a right to change their mind?
Simplest explanation Liz. It happened, he’s trying to explain it all away. No one cares if US Weekly will look bad – they WILL care if Jaleel looks bad *for no reason*. Hence, something happened, maybe minor. But to say it didn’t happen at all?? HUGE stretch.
OK, Liz. That’s definitely a possibility. But like I said before, in that case, the storyline shouldn’t still be kicking around after a full week. And, what of the rehearsal video? Why wasn’t it shown? JMO, but there are 3 options there – one of them HIGHLY UNLIKELY, but I’ll include it for “completeness of the argument”. In fact, I’ll include it first:
1. The tape doesn’t exist. There are places like the common kitchen area in the dance studio that don’t have cameras. I could paint a scenario where things flared up, one of them went to the kitchen area to cool off, and the other followed. The big blow-up then occurred out of camera range, and out of range for their wireless mics (I work with wireless gear all the time, it doesn’t have the range you’d think, especially in a building with plumbing & wiring in the walls). Like I said, unlikely, but possible.
2. The tape exists, and it really isn’t that bad. If that’s the case, and I’m Jaleel or his PR people, I’d be screaming at the top of my lungs “Show the tape! Let people decide for themselves! We had a tiff, for cryin’ out loud, we got over it.” He’s got to know that after a full week of this, it’s not helping him. Or maybe, just maybe…
3. The tape exists, and it’s bad. Not necessarily as bad as the printed reports, but bad. As was said on Twitter, something like Jaleel “looming” over Kym, screaming (with perhaps some choice expletives thrown in). And a “discussion” with Donald, then Mark, getting more & more heated. If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t want it out, either. Not if I’m Jaleel, or if I’m TPTB. If it gets out, Jaleel, and his audience, are toast.
I’m sure there are other possibilities that I haven’t considered, but at this point, who really cares? He’s lost my votes, and from the comments on this board, other votes as well. He had a chance to mitigate the damage, and royally blew it, IMO. He should have taken full responsibility for “the tiff” right up front, told folks he apologized, and moved on. But taking a question from Cameron along the lines of “shouldn’t you take responsibility? What IS your responsibility?” and answering “I can’t say”????????? WHUT????
Loved Jaleel’s first dance, he has been struggling since.. The thing is there have been d’bags on this show: Situation, Warren Sapp just to name a couple recently in the news.
The show is about a dance contest and personal issues should not be a part of the competition.
I feel there is much we do not know about many of the other participants.
One could say that Mark is a womanizer, but in the real scheme of things, it is the dancing that is what this show is all about.
As for the producers on ABC, just look at what they do on the Bacchelor/ette series to gain audience shares.
I am still confused about the whole Mickey Mouse thing! I think he really believes he is Urkel and that alter-ego Urkel. Jaleel has a distorted ego! Kym is so sweet and doesn’t deserve to be treated that way! I also think he was trying awfully hard to cry that night, but he’s just not that good of an actor. When they showed Jaleel kissing Kym before their performance, look at his eyes. He sees the camera and makes nice with Kym. When he triess to talk cool, I just don’t believe him. Jaleel is a phony!
The video totally convinced me–this guy needs to go.
If being a douchebag makes it cause for someone to “go” …why is Maks on every season? Just sayin’.
I’m thinking IF there is video of it, it a) will be shown tonight b)it’s nothing near what’s being said. If that’s the case, why would TPTB want to stymie it? If it is causing show “buzz” they like that, correct?
Jo B
I agree with your last paragraph.
I think the way Jaleel has reacted to the blowup has done far more damage than the blowup itself – had he just owned it from the get-go, said “Yeah, I kinda lost my cool, it wasn’t a good thing, but I’m ready to move on and do better”, I think viewers would be a lot more inclined to give him a second chance – I would have. But the way he’s talked about it in the media has just got my head spinning – he’s pointing fingers here, there, and everywhere, he’s changing his story every 5 minutes, and he’s generally acting kinda narcissistic and deceptive. As my lil Welsh granny (god rest her soul) used to say, life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it – and Jaleel is reacting to it in all the wrong ways.
I went into this season so excited to have Jaleel on the show, and in 3 weeks he’s managed to magnificently self-destruct from a charismatic front-runner to a manipulative bottom feeder. I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt after the story broke…but hearing him try to dance around the accusations (as sensationalized as they may have been) and spin the situation this way and that, I dunno if I have it in me to toss any votes his way (I’ve already promised half to Team Menough & half to Team MGMC, anyway) even if he dances incredibly tonight. I think it would take him building an orphanage in Africa, curing cancer, and lowering the national debt in addition to dancing a 30-worthy tango in order to get me to change my mind.
sheery, I think you might be confusing what we as viewers think (Jaleel needs to go cuz he’s a douchbag) versus what the producer thing/want (Jaleel and whoever stick around cuz douchbags can create ratings of a trainwrecky variety). They’re often very different.
Jaleel needs to Ja-Leave because he is a J-erk!!! End of story.
Do you know, I’ve been thinking of something…
Maybe the dance-off shtick isn’t to keep Katherine or William (or whomever) in, but to somewhat gently usher Jaleel out? If something happened (and the cast’s reaction – or lack thereof – at the end of Jaleel’s dance last week is an indication), maybe the producers have looked at a way to get him out of the show without being sued for breach of contract. So they look at how they do things at SCD, find the dance-off, and hope that the backlash of the affair will be enough to land Jaleel in the bottom two sometime soon.
Just sayin’…
Again, I’m just being honest about how I feel.
If Jaleel is the one saying all this stuff on his own, then he needs to hire a new manager/agent/PR/advisor because that person is not telling Jaleel to shut up and they’re not keeping him from doing the interviews. I would think his agent have been putting him in those interviews unless Jaleel fights back and I guess he isn’t. Although in show business, I guess you can’t always get what you want. I guess his other option is to walk away or out of interviews every time he is asked about the alleged fight but he isn’t. It probably looks bad if he does that. The interviewers are the ones asking him the questions about the alleged fight.
El – It’s a possibility. But IF the tape exists, and it’s anywhere in the neighborhood of the online reports, seems to me they could usher Jaleel out simply by airing said tape… the viewing audience would take care of the rest. And if it exists, and it’s not really that bad, the air it, and let the guy up. As it is, this is almost like a “death of 1,000 cuts”… 🙁
Courtney –
“…even if he dances incredibly tonight. I think it would take him building an orphanage in Africa, curing cancer, and lowering the national debt in addition to dancing a 30-worthy tango in order to get me to change my mind.”
Reason 213,455 why I love you! 🙂 You put it so much better than I’ve been able to!
I don’t know, EL – if this is all just a ploy to get rid of Jaleel, it’s a pretty risky plan, and it’s generating a lot of collateral damage & ire from the fans. What if Jaleel doesn’t fall into the bottom 2? Or falls into the bottom 2, but obviously outdances the other couple? Or what if he does fall into the bottom 2 this week, is eliminated, but they still have several weeks of this nonsense left? It may unintentionally help get rid of him if he falls into the bottom 2 and gets outdanced, but I think there’s more to it than just a ploy to get rid of Jaleel. I would think if Jaleel was indeed causing as many problems as he is, there is something written into the contract that would allow the show to terminate him – maybe under the grounds of “extreme mental cruelty” to his partner. I’m no lawyer or expert on contractual law, but I don’t think any employment contract would somehow protect someone who was being physically or mentally violent towards another employee.
I voted “Other” for several reasons. First, I really don’t have any facts, everyone is skirting the questions pretty well…even Mark when he was asked what happened. That is normal, I think. But it is mostly normal in a situation where something DID happen that is embarrassing or even a liability issue. Perhaps with Jaleel’s court case with his ex, any tape that exists would be a problem. Who knows, really. The producers have (in the past) consistently slanted things for ratings even at the expense of someones reputation. However, I think Jaleel probably lost his temper and got called on it, now he’s embarrassed and ashamed and is not used to feeling like that. He obviously has no agent/PR person advising him in a way that will help. It is a mess. And, I for one, lost interest. If Kim feels safe enough to continue working with him, I trust her judgment. But at the same time, I’m glad others are nearby. Odd to feel so contradictory about this…that is what happens when there are virtually no facts to support all this. Wonder if we will ever know, and if this ends up as part of the evidence in Jaleel’s court case. Sorry, I have been rambling.
I agree EL that was my first thought when I heard about the bottom two duel!! I bet money they score Jaleel low enough to be the bottom two with either this week or next and do the same thing to one of their “favs”. That way he can be ushered out and it isn’t a big deal because Kathrine and William are evenly matched, if not more talented, than Jaleel in dancing ability.
Also, and this may just be because I am a huge fan of Kym, but I strongly believe where there is smoke there is fire and her vibe this season toward her partner has seemed way way off to me. I mean just look back over the last three seasons. David Arquette and her were adorably funny together and she made me see such a sweet side of him that I would have never of know was there. Kym and Hines should be married as far as I am concerned!! They were heaven to watch. And she even made me like The HOFF!!
Plus he will NEVER give a reasonable answer to any question he is asked! Add to that his off hand and somewhat disrespectful comments, his comment about her eye, the retweet about her zipping up his pants, the comment to Brooke about feeling like he was being shot up with something, and lets not revisit the Mickey Mouse thing, with all that I am thinking he as done alot of damage to his time on the show.
Oh, I forgot to say…I, too, wish he would go. I think this is too much a distraction from an otherwise really “happy” season. When the season started, we all thought we would finally, for once, get a group with no drama. Now this. So, I say, get him off the show so we can move on to the dancing.
I also agree strongly with Courtney’s posts above.
Liz – Interesting that you chalk all of this up to TPTB going along with a false story in order to boost ratings. I can think of a lot of other ways to create drama that will actually boost ratings this season than the producers going along with a false story about Jaleel yelling at and calling Kym names in a week in which old abuse allegations about him surfaced. I do believe that the main demographic of the show is women and I would think that stories like this, whether true or false, tend to paint that celeb in a bad light with the viewing audience. Remember David Arquette?
I’ve been around Kym on several occasions. The look on her face in a couple of interviews in which they were asked about the incident was enough to tell me that something happened. In my opinion all involved were asked to downplay whatever happened in order to help or protect Jaleel.
Jaleel had the opportunity to squash this by saying something like, “Yes we got into a disagreement about the choreography. I had had a stressful week and maybe my point came across the wrong way, but I apologized to Kym and we’re fine now.” Instead he chose to blame the cameras being there the whole time, the “20 idiots in the back,” and blame Kym for “not understanding who Stefan Urquell was.” Then of course he chose to retweet something that was, in my opinion, just as or more disrespectful to Kym as when David A. allowed Howard Stern to talk about her in a disgusting manner.
Kym is my favorite female pro and I was initially was excited about her dancing with Jaleel. I’m not basing my decision not to vote for Jaleel based on the abuse allegations because the timing is suspect. What I am basing my decision on is how he’s behaving now. I think the nickname Jerkel fits him just fine.
@Courtney and Sally:
I do agree that there most likely is a clause in the contract to terminate the celeb’s stay on the show if there’s the need. However, I also think the producers do not want to use it in Jaleel’s case as it would generate a lot of bad publicity for the show. It could backfire tremendously for them, with headlines such as “DWTS lets its pros being abused” or some such. Remember what controversy the push Maks gave Hope last season generated. If what Jaleel did to Kym (that is, if he did anything) is on a par, or even beyond that, just imagine the scandal. I’m sure the producers do not want that. Especially not now, when they’ve invested so much to pass this season as the cozy, everybody-gets-along type.
I would not put it past TPTB to milk this controversy for ratings. That being said, TPTB better make for damn sure Kym is safe at all times if there is any truth the story.
But then this is the TV show that allowed a 34 year old “bachelor” contestant to abuse and yell at a 20 year old pro two seasons ago and look at the ratings that produced.
I don’t know about the idea of pushing this off on TPTB. I’ve been trying to remember and I can’t think of ANY of this being brought up on Monday night in the package, the dance, the after-dance, or on Elimination night. I can’t remember it being mentioned on the show itself at all. Am I wrong? Which is strange and extra suspicious to me because TPTB LOVE LOVE LOVE a tiff between partner and star – they show spats again and again and again. The only place this is getting time is in the interviews and on-line. My only guess here is that lawyers are involved quashing what can or can not be aired on this matter.
Also, I was not ready to believe the girlfriend, and even phished at the first news of the spat.
It was his reaction to everything that has happened since that reeks of nasty. I saw an interview where he was asked about the incident and he replied that it was all about partnership and that “I know I am a great partner. How about you, Kym? Are you a good partner?” It’s her body language as she clings to him, looking at him, not allowed a word edgewise as he monopolizes interviews. Its his graciousness and magnetism when he was dancing great, and his pissed sullenness with the next 2 performances when things have not gone his way. Whether it is or not – it comes off as abuser red flags.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I totally believe TV producers, particularly on reality shows are not above sensationalize things and creating drama. However on the other side of the coin, I’ve also seen reports in tabloids about celebs who behaved badly at a show and the behavior was downplayed even though the reports were in fact true. I just think this particular incident would be a bad choice to sensationalize given the other allegations. But of course I’m not a Muppet…
totally off subject, but speaking of Muppets… I love the Muppets, but it does seem as though Animal has taken over the wardrobe department lately. I miss Randolf.
I agree with what’s been said here… and I keep coming back to “if you’ve got the tape, air it.” Either way, it clears things up.
Kym sure seems to have no problem with Jaleel. I’m wondering why the fans are going in on Jaleel so hard. He keeps it real, maybe too real for this audience. I still think he’s one of Kym’s best dance partners. Their Foxtrot and Rumba was really good and they ended up getting a 9 for both dances.
I think the problem is, Brit, that NOTHING about Jaleel seems “real” or authentic. He seems very fake to me and I know I’m not alone in that.
Heidi, I guess we see it differently.
Obviously the Jaleel fans are probably going to be more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt than non-fans – but as someone who was thrilled to hear that they got Jaleel for this season of DWTS and had him picked as the guy to beat this season from the moment the cast was announced, even I am having a hard time overlooking some of this shady behavior. I think if you have to twist yourself in knots to try and come up with a way to justify someone’s behavior, then maybe you need to evaluate whether that behavior is really worth justifying. Heidi & I are both big fans of Occam’s Razor – the theory that basically says the simplest explanation for something is most often the correct one. In this case, the simplest explanation to me is that Jaleel made a mistake and is trying to cover his ass – no manipulation on the part of TPTB, no long & contrived plots to keep or eliminate him, no grand conspiracy at hand. And whoever was the first to mention that there might be lawyers involved due to Jaleel’s ongoing custody battle with his ex could be onto something – it may very well be in Jaleel’s contract that his lawyers reserve the right to censor any footage that could compromise the case. Just like TPTB may grant a celeb’s request for a certain partner to secure their participation on the show, they may grant other contractual requests as well.
Obviously we all have different opinions and feelings about this and Brit and I feel pretty much the same on this. That’s what this website is pretty much about, I guess. We read stuff then discuss them.
Excellent point about the possibility of the lawyers being able to quash things…. I hadn’t considered that, and I can definitely see where things like that could be prejudicial to an ongoing custody case.
Well said Courtney. I think if one has to make all kinds of justifications for Jaleel’s bad behavior on one’s twitter feed and dimisses this site well as everyone’s negative opinion of Jaleel’s behavior here as being biased and simply not liking Jaleel, then there probably won’t be any self-evaluation. I too really wanted Kym and Jaleel to get to the finals, but I can’t support bad behavior.
Also what kills me is how people speculate that Kym seems fine with everything so Jaleel must be a great guy. How does one know Kym is truly fine? Kym is a professional dancer who is paid to teach celebrities, some who are narcissistic and egotistical, how to dance. This isn’t her first rodeo so she’s not going to say anything negative about her partner to the media.
#40 RJ, Kym’s blog states point blank, him stepping on her foot etc never happened and that everything was blown way out of proportion.
I’m still up for giving him another chance.
Well Courtney, I thought Jaleel would have it in the bag this season too. But even putting this controversy aside, once he opened his mouth and starting talking, in interviews etc., he dropped a couple notches for me. His tweets were odd, his remarks were odd. Icky, I don’t care for him at all.
The publicity surrounding him is all for ratings. I still like his dancing and he deserves to stick around.
I’m not sure that the weird stuff that comes out of Jaleel’s mouth is for ratings. Doesn’t seem like the show coached him on how to be a jerk.
Besides his arrogant comments and the tweets, the thing that has creeped me out recently about him is how he refers to his daughter. In his tweets and in a couple of interviews he has referred to her several times as as this child or this girl. I don’t have children, but I refer to my nephew as my nephew and not this boy. Also when he was talking about having his daughter to ET he said that the spirits moved him to LET this child come into the world. I’m not saying he’s a full-blown sociopath, but he’s got some kind of personality disorder.
The tribute to his TV character on personal story week was really strange. His mom has recovered from breast cancer and he has a daughter, but saying that his TV character was the most important year of his life is really odd in my book. Gee even wacky David Arquette dedicated his dance to his daughter.
I agree with ten and Marlene.
Yes I saw the blog Marlene. I’m not so easily swayed by one blog because I see all kinds of media spin and I’m a bit jaded. The statements in brackets were added by the publication. Kym only stated that Jaleel didn’t step on her toes and that whatever happened was blown out of proportion. The article was at the very least edited for grammar by her publicist. Also I would be quite surprised if DWTS didn’t approve and/or give strict guidelines about what pros can say in their blogs as well as what they say to the media, particularly about the celebrities. I imagine everyone who works on DWTS, including interns and some contractors/vendors, are bound by confidentiality agreements. Furthermore, if Jaleel’s people were actuallly able to negotiate some approval rights over what was shown then the general public will never know what really happened. At this point I’m not concerned with details of the disagreement, but what really ticks me off is how Jaleel, knowing that Kym can’t defend herself publicly, cowardly keeps throwing her under the bus, which he did again this morning. Thankfully for Kym, though, Jaleel has decided to put his characters back in the vault so she won’t have to deal with them again until he brings them back out…
There has to be more to the story, every single time kym thinks the camera is not looking she is constantly pushing his hands away, making a face, trying to get away from him, I saw it twice last night. You can tell she doesn’t like him except when the camera is on and it’s show time, what’s up with that? I would say that’s an indicator the blow up did happen and she is trying to bare through it.
Jamie, I agree. There has to be more to this story. I saw the Kym reacted too to him. I feel sorry for her. He’s a ticking time bomb.