Official: Hayes Grier To Dance On Dancing With The Stars Season 21
Via his instagram, Hayes Grier is indeed dancing on the new season of Dancing With The Stars.
ETA: Thanks to @Idolxfactor1, here’s an announcement on GMA:
Via his instagram, Hayes Grier is indeed dancing on the new season of Dancing With The Stars.
ETA: Thanks to @Idolxfactor1, here’s an announcement on GMA:
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Who is he? Never heard of him! A vine star is not a ”star”! This is a real stretch! The cast was so good up until this! And then he got Emma! uggh! 🙁
And he is???? Never heard of him.
Lol.
I think the internet outlets (Vine, Youtube) are trying to give their stars more mainstream exposure. Look at happen with Bethany Mota, not too many knew about her.
OK – I’m showing my age. Who’s is this guy?? This is TPTB first hiccup for Season 21!! Oh well… I guess I’ll get to know him in the upcoming weeks!! And BTW – I would never want to dance these ball room dances with a 15 year old boy!! But that’s just me!!
Ooh wee – I think Emma’s gonna have her hands full with this one. Seems like an even less mature Cody Simpson, minus the actual dance experience, and with an untested fanbase (although they seem to skew young, and have the potential to throw tantrums..yayyyy). This was seriously the best they could do for her???
Yeah I agree Courtney. But I’m beginning to think that Emma’s only purpose on the show is to be partnered with the “leftover” contestant. The one that really nobody wanted, but was only cast to fill the producers agenda.
I will tell you why they cast him, I was excited about Nick Carter my kids said “Who”.
When I told them some guy named Hayes Grier was confirmed they said “Oh my gosh we are for sure voting for him”
He was cast to bring in the tweens.
Man what a great cast up until this announcement
If people thought Mota fans were bad you are in a treat for this one lol. Their the type where if dwts posted a photo of Artem and his partner they will spam the comments about Hayes and anything related to him. Not mention what will happened when he gets eliminated ughh they were on such a good roll with these celeb announcements! I know I should give a chance especially if he gets paired with my favorite Emma and Willow did surprise us, but Willow was mature beyond her years and that’s not the case with Hayes. I agree he gives the Cody and even Roshon vibe but even more immature.
At least Cody & Roshon could actually dance – I’m dubious about Hayes’ dance abilities.
Vine star, wow, what a stretch.. He seems REAL immature too. Oh gosh, Emma!!! 🙂 I think she would have been better matched with Andy Grammar or Carlos Penavega(now that would have been HOT!!)
The cast seems great but not the match up IMO 🙂 Oh well, excited for this season to begin..
We actually didn’t have very many issues with the Mota fans – they seemed pretty tame. Most of the issues with her fans that season actually were issues with some Derek fans wringing their hands over nothing (some apparently hold Ph.D’s in it). It was the PLL fans and the R5 fans that caused more trouble.
Ya think, Thomas? Not that hard to figure out.
Man, even though there is only a couple years difference in physical age between him and, say, Sadie or Willow – when you consider he’s male you can add another 5 or 6 years in terms of lack of maturity. This could be…creepy.
I don’t actually remember Bethany’s fans as being that bad. I remember Janel fans being horrible, Donny fans being a nightmare, Bachelor fans are crazy…I’m sure there are more (that Courtney remembers), but I don’t remember Mota fans as being as bad as others. The worst of all? Maksyl.
I really wanted Emma to get a good partner this season. Jeez this just feels so older female teacher/high school boy to me (not insinuating anything about Emma, love her) but 15? I thought Willow was sweet but also too young. Come on Rob and TPTB please don’t go below 17 yrs. Never heard of him but just keep remembering Sharna during switch up week telling Cody to pull up his pants, put the comb away and stop looking in the mirror. I feel like Emma is stuck giving dancing lessons for the prom. She deserves so much better.
Yes, it is true that there are some Derek fans who really need to get a grip as well. The younger ones (hopefully) that haven’t realized that Derek already has 5 MBTs and an emmy and it’s not a crisis if he doesn’t get another MBT.
I WOULD like another Emmy for him, however. 😀
I think I’ve touched on this before, but the most annoying/troublesome fanbases over the years have been:
season 9: the Donny fans
season 10: people that didn’t like Nicole
season 11: the Bristol fans
season 12: the Chelsea fans
season 13: the Hope fans (not a ton, but the ones we got were very vocal)
season 14: the William fans
season 15: the Kelly fans
season 16: the Zendaya fans
season 17: not really fans, but the anti-Bill brigade
season 18: MAKSYL (they might even win for all-time most annoying fans)
season 19: the Janel/PLL fans
season 20: tie between R5 fans and Val fans (not even Rumer fans, really)
There’s also been a few isolated weirdos over the years – the dude that hated James Maslow, the dude that claimed Erin was the only reason DWTS was still on the air, the amputee fetishists/activists that were complaining about there not being enough attention brought to Amy & Noah’s prostheses, a renegade Kate Gosselin fan, the dude that would write entire conspiracy-laden manifestos in the comments section about how Bristol on DWTS was Sara Palin’s attempt to try and make a run for the presidency…you get the idea.
I’m feeling so, so bad for Emma. What did she ever do to anyone that she has to constantly be given bad contestants? She is such a fantastic dancer and she’s always getting craptastic partners! I thought the “Tony Dovolani situation” was bad enough but Emma’s situation takes the cake really. If I were her I would seriously ask myself “What the heck am I doing here?”. I know it’s easier said than done but maybe her talents can be utilized on Strictly more than DWTS? Another thing – I also see random people on Facebook, Twitter complaining to the The Idiots Who Run This Show asking, pleading with them to give Emma a better partner and it falls on deaf ears. I know I’m being dramatic but I’m really perplexed by the whole thing but I need to give Hayes a chance – maybe he’s really Baryshnikov 2.0!! But I doubt it. Sorry for venting…
The only plus side of this is that Emma will a huge social media following and people will notice her more sorta like Allison having the R5 fans getting her that teen choice nominee (which she totally deserved). I am however still cringing at the fact of sexy Emma Slater on a 15 year old boy.
I have no problems with Emma teaching this kid to dance – adults teach and dance with kids all the time, and Emma is classy, mature, and nurturing enough to make it work.
That being said, I’m not particularly thrilled at his casting only because I am not expecting much in terms of entertainment or emotion coming from a 15 year-old boy, but I get it and I’m willing to keep an open mind.
If they wanted a vine “star” Matt Cushall (not sure about the spelling) would’ve been good candidate and is an acquaintance of Emma. Can you imagine being a 15 yr old boy with raging hormone dancing with someone like Emma?
On the plus side, she didn’t get an older contestant this season.
@Trent – She also didn’t get an older contestant last season – and we see how well that worked out for her. 🙂 For as un-able-bodied as Bill, Billy Dee, and Mike may have been, they all at least had a fanbase to carry them for awhile (in Billy Dee’s case, he probably could have lasted at least another week, had he not withdrawn). Redfoo just couldn’t get the votes – and I’m thinking Grier could struggle too.
Emma has always been about making sure her partner had the best possible experience and felt good about their journey on the show. That’s why she’s become one of my favorite pros. While I’m sure she’ll be the same way this season, I just can’t picture her with a 15 year old. I know nothing about him, but based on what I’ve seen on social media people have been calling him immature and a brat, which sort of reminds me of a younger Cody, like you all have said. Hopefully he’ll surprise all of us and not be terrible to watch.
I have a very hard time believing this kid will do anywhere near as well as Riker or last as long. I tend to think he won’t last as long as Willow. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Apparently TPTB decided they need more tween-bait. *sigh* There are always exceptions to the rule, but 15 year-old boys are far too emotionally immature to do a show like DWTS. Did nobody remind these morons that boys lag years behind girls in emotional maturity?
It’ll be sad to see Emma saddled with him, but it seems inevitable since she’s the only pro with the patience to put up with teen-boy antics. Hopefully he’s not a total nightmare. I’m curious to see how his followers react to the pairing because from their perspective Emma’s as old as Methuselah (“eeeewwww, why does Hayes have to dance with an old lady?”)
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the camel…are they really saying THAT, Cidra??? Emma an “old lady” at 26????!!!!! If that’s the case, I must be knocking on death’s door at 30…and this old bat is gonna go knock some sense into them. #getoffmylawnyahooligans
He’s getting as much hate as he is love on twitter, in my very brief look this morning. I’m thinking, again, that he’s not going to do well.
If Shay is on then be ready for another craziness from the PLL fans 🙂 Them combined with now Val’s fans/ Zendaya? They spread their dislikes to others than their idols like wild fire. Bethany’s fans were actually “harrasing” her for not making more videos 🙂
No, no, stand down Court… that was just me speculating! Maybe they think she’s a hot babe, but I know that a number of young people (especially tweens) seem to think anyone over 20 is “old”.
@Cidra – Well in that case, as I mentioned – I’m knocking on death’s door, then, and Heidi actually died 5 years ago and has been pulling a Weekend at Bernies on us. 😀
I dont know Hayes but I know his older brother has gotten a lot of slack because of racist and other comments hes made and I know his brothers fans are pretty intense (like the 1D of vine)
Anyways I’m meh about him. Producers having Bethany was fine because she has been one of the most successful youtubers and and had built a huge brand for herself but viners? Idk I never really got why some are so famous
@Court, which means I’ve been in the grave for over 25 years!
Zendaya and Bethany….sigh. How can such sweet girls have such crazy immature fans? Especially Beth— love the girl, but her fans were pretty awfully annoying on instagram and Twitter. Maksyl fans….LOL they are so unbearable it’s laughable. I can’t imagine anything worse. I felt like I lost brain cells.
Tptb have made such a bomb cast so far, and yet they screw over Emma? They treat some of the sweetest pros like doormats. I know tptb wanna attract Tweens (idk why, they’re so fickle) but he seems kind of….random? Bethany built her own brand. What has Hayes really done? And I know age doesn’t always equate with maturity, but Hayes is a teen boy, who are notoriously immature. I really hope he surprises us so Emma can stay a while. I’ll gladly ignore his fans if he turns out to be good.
With so many Youtubers out there, some as popular or even more popular than Bethany, they chose a 15 year old Vine Star? If the show wants twitter trending, etc they should choose someone above 20 yrs old like Ryan Higa (15+ mil followers), Pewdiepie (38+ mil followers), the Fine Brothers (20+ mil followers), etc. Unless of course they don’t want to do the show.
Before in the other post I said he looked like a fun one but now after more research…..i might actively root against him. He kinda annoys me.
I’m no apologist for TPTB and don’t know any Viners, but maybe the show approached a lot of the “better” ones and they all said “gawd no”. If that’s the case, it probably would have been wiser to go a different direction for S21 and try their luck next season, but they seem pretty stubborn sometimes about wanting a certain “type” of celeb. So the casting director had to settle for this kid.
Wow, and I thought 17-year-old Sadie was going to be too young for Mark! Now they’re giving poor Emma a 15-year-old boy? As Heidi pointed out, you can deduct a few years of male immaturity to that and you have her partnered with a child with adult “inclinations.” It is creepy and unfair. Emma is an incredible and versatile dancer with a body to die for and she keeps getting these “misfits” for lack of a better term that everyone knows will never win the MBT. At least with Sadie, she often looked older than she was, so the contrast between hers and Mark’s age wasn’t distracting. And Willow was mature beyond her years, but this partnership just doesn’t make sense to me. Obviously, it’s going to be great for the kid, but it’s not right to keep doing Emma this way.
Again, Emma is ON the show as a pro. She almost wasn’t. So which would you rather?
Also, again, she’s a professional dancer on a major TV show, versus one who is barely scraping by, trying to find work.
Perspective, please.
Hopefully we won’t see a Argentine tango or rumba out of him becuase talk about awkward.
Well, if given the choice, Heidi, this season, I would rather have Emma host on All Access than partnering with a 15-year-old boy.
Vin, if his fans manage to keep Hayes in long enough, I’m sure we’ll see that. However, I have faith in Emma’s ability to find the right theme and choreography to make those dances work for a 15 year-old guy.
Thank you Cidra. I agree – if Derek and Julianne can dance the rumba together, or Mark and Willow perform a great AT – I’m not worried for Emma. I’m happy she has a partner, even if ideally I’d have preferred someone else – and who knows, I’m willing to be surprised!
I’ll take Emma any way that I can get her – I guess I’m just kinda like “Really, Rob? This 15-year-old brat is the best you could do for a pro that took Billy & Mike farther than anyone imagined, stuck it out with Billy Dee, and tolerated the neuroses of Redfoo? And you almost didn’t get anyone for her at all?” I don’t think Hayes would be an awesome partner for any of the female pros – but my god, Emma has been an absolute SAINT. Guess I was just hoping they wouldn’t screw her yet again. Even Deep Throat was like “Ugh, poor Emma!” And then I see Allison, who isn’t even a ballroom dancer and is only in her 3rd season as a pro, and they made sure they had a partner for her…and the two she’s had so far have been pretty decent. Even Sharna, who has gotten kinda screwed in the past, still ended up with Charlie and now Nick…when is Emma gonna get HER Charlie or Nick? Part of me worries that TPTB assumed that Emma should have taken Redfoo futher, and thus weren’t trying very hard to actually get her a partner…let alone a halfway decent one.
I guess I should know by now that seniority and patience don’t really win you anything on this show – you’re probably better off being a whiny little b*tch like Val, who whines for another MBT after being awarded ringer after ringer after ringer, then a quiet, patient, non-complaining pro like Sasha or Emma…who continually get shat on.
For Emma’s sake, I just hope she can get Hayes to focus at least a little bit and that he’s willing to make the effort to try to learn. It would be so frustrating if all he wants to do is spend the majority of rehearsal time tweeting, taking selfies and making 6-second videos to post on his social media page.
I can agree that with TPTB, the squeaky wheel often seems to get the grease because they think there’s “value” in whatever the fam brings – even though I don’t necessarily agree, for the most part. I do think that they gave Emma what they thought would be a contender in RedFoo, but that didn’t work out obviously.
Ideally, I’d love for pros like Sasha and Emma to get a celeb every time, because for them it’s about the journey, and that’s what I want to see – it does suck that their positivity isn’t rewarded how I’d like, but as PH said – for me, better that they are on the show in some role than not.
A million thumbs up to everything Courtney has said above!! I could not agree more!
Just glad I’m not alone, Susan1 🙂 But I did just have an interesting conversation with Figamentation on Twitter, with regards to how people are worrying about Hayes & Emma being all “sexual”…
…why is it that no one bats an eye about propriety when it’s an older man and a younger woman dancing together (Bill & Emma, Mike & Emma, Tommy & Peta, Tavis & Sharna, etc. etc. etc.), but the minute it’s an older woman and a younger man, it’s suddenly gross? Think about how everyone reacted to Cloris & Corky, Kirstie & Maks, and now Hayes & Emma…why do they get labeled as Mrs. Robinsons/Mary Kay Letourneau, while the older men get off scot-free?
I’m quite sure that Emma would not agree, Kenya. She’s a DANCER. She gets paid far more for being a pro.
To be fair, Derek and Jules only had to rumba once as adults and both found it very uncomfortable. 🙂
Yeah, but the whiny little bitch will be the first one to get the shaft if he carries on too much or they find a male pro they like better. Having the patience of a saint is more likely to keep you around when they are unsuccessful getting you a partner. Like how Emma was at least going to troupe – whereas Jenna would have been out altogether.
Like I said, re:Allison. Perhaps someone asked for her. She did well with Riker.
I don’t think they value Val quite as highly as all that. I mean, if they are watching the view counts on all those nae nae videos, Val is way down in like 7th place. He’s being beaten by Derek, Mark, Witney, Peta…and others I can’t remember off the top of my head. All of those videos were uploaded at the same time except Peta who had a 3 day head start. It may not be an indication of who gets votes, but it’s certainly an indication of overall popularity. I think they are desperate for a Derek replacement…but I’m not so sure they’re convinced they’ve found him.
Had to laugh at that fan base list, Courtney! Totally on point. I find personally that the most annoying fans seem to come from Val’s Valdaya fan base more than anything. He created little monsters out of that group (many of which are grown women, welp) since he feeds their romantic delusions and season after season they tend to torment whomever his unfortunate partner is as soon as they’re announced.. Janel’s fans (with the exception of a couple insane shippers who I think everyone knows by name at this point) tended to I think just come to her defense against Val’s nutjobs who turned on her in .5 seconds since I still don’t think a large part of her minor character’s PLL fanbase voted or even watched. Now if Shay’s on the show a nightmare is definitely going to ensue…. She has literally 4x Janel’s fanbase and Val’s girls have been gung-ho on getting her for as long as he’s been begging and thirsting for it. This is why I stick to my genuine mark and derek. I honestly didn’t even know vine stars were a thing until recently and haven’t heard great things about any of the boys involved… Lots of sexist, racist and homophobic behavior I guess. I love Emma and have no doubt she’ll do the best she can but I don’t see how his immaturity isn’t going to be an issue. Willow, Beth, Shawn, Sadie.. all extremely mature girls who carried themselves well, granted look who their partners were. Clearly TPTB could care less about the social media chaos and fighting that comes from having these super young contestants but after seeing Motough shippers and angry R5 kids I don’t think it’s a great idea. I guess in TPTB eyes any attention to their show is good attention, even if it means shippers and fans throwing death threats at each other. Dear lord give me the good ol DWTS days!
Why do some *women* (which just pisses me off) hate Kaitlyn Bristow and call her all sorts of ugly names for sleeping with one or more of her guys on The Bachelorette, then when the Bachelor does it, they still call the women he sleeps with horrible names?? The men get of scott fu*cking free by OTHER WOMEN. It’s disgusting and disheartening.
That said, in this instance it’s probably because he’s 15. One of my followers is a dancer and was talking about dancing at 15 with 15 year old boys. There is a…ahem…physical issue that he might not be able to help, if you follow me. That also said, no one had a problem with Mark dancing with 17 year old Shawn or Sadie.
Heidi, I wouldn’t presume to speak for Emma, I’m speaking for myself as a viewer. And if this kid is as “bratty” as I’m hearing, she may end up wishing she had a cut in her salary this season. In any case, this lady deserves more consideration from this show than she’s being given.
PH, the physical issue you mention had crossed my mind. (I was a theatre major in college and remember some incidents.) I think it’s entirely likely it could be a problem, and when it happens, there’s nothing to be done about it. Perhaps a dance belt could somewhat minimize the issue were it to occur?
The only time I remember anyone complaining about the man’s age in a partnership was last season when Willow was first announced. There was angst over the thought of Mark doing a rumba with her.
I remember Mark having one of those – issues – after a jive or something with Shawn. It was a very non-sexual dance, but shit happens down there. I didn’t think it was at all creepy, just unfortunate for him.
I am personally game for anything that will challenge conceived notions of women’s sexuality, appropriateness, or anything of the sort. There’s a huge double standard – women age, men mature – women are sluts, men are studs, – men with young women is normal, women with young men is icky. That being said, I don’t worry at all about the sexual connotations between Emma and this kid. Dance is sexual, sure – but it’s so many other things, and I feel confident that she can make the best of it.
As Mark said last season, he has been teaching kids for a long time. So it wasn’t strange for him to teach Willow. I imagine it won’t be any different for Emma this season.
I don’t get the argument that it’s gross that Emma is dancing with him because “she’s too old” ..if anything, Emma is the perfect partner because she doesn’t sexualize every dance she does and can be age appropriate (like Mark was with Sadie and Shawn)
I’m glad Emma is a pro this season but ugh, I just wish it was someone else and not this kid because I realllllyyy don’t like him or his brother
I don’t think any of the pros find it strange to teach/dance with someone who is significantly younger/older than they. It’s the hyper-sensitive segment of the viewing audience that projects their own insecurities and hangups about sexuality onto the partnership.
Jessica, Earlier in the conversation, I was *speculating* in a tongue-in-cheek way that some of his young fans might have the reaction that she’s so “old” because he and they are so young. I don’t think anyone here is saying Emma’s too old to be dancing with Hayes. The general consensus is that Emma is an excellent choice of partner for this kid.
@Cidra – I was actually referring to some on Twitter that think it’s “gross” that an older woman is dancing with a younger man…and it kinda got me started on the double standard that exists between May-November dance partnerships on DWTS: if it’s an older guy and a younger woman, nobody bats and eye (and often, they think it’s “adorable”…i.e. Tommy & Peta); but put an older woman with a younger man (Cloris & Corky, Hayes & Emma), and suddenly everyone thinks it’s “icky” and act like the woman is some Mary Kay Letourneau wannabe.
@ Cidra, ohhhh okay. I mean, I wouldn’t be shocked if some of his fans think that way because tbh I think they are younger than the Cody fans or maybe more intense then the Zendaya fans just because usually girls who are fans of popular male stars are a bit…………….. *cough*
I know when his brother made racist remarks (multiple times), his fans were very gross on twitter so.. I expect nothing less again.
All I have to say is I love Emma. She’s getting a paycheck. She will once again be a pro and do a great job. I am willing to give the kid a chance and let Emma handle it.
I am still smiling from reading the words “HENRY IS OUT” See me smiling! 🙂
@Court, sad that I was right when I speculated that some of Hayes’s fans would consider Emma “old” and find it “icky” that he’s dancing with her.
I avoided commenting on the double-standard discussion because I didn’t want to get all bent out of shape. Like you, it makes me furious that society thinks it’s perfectly acceptable for old men to be paired (in life and dance) with younger women but it’s wrong/disgusting for an older woman to be paired with a younger man.
Why, Kenya? Why does she deserve more consideration? Seriously. She has a good paying job as a dancer. A job that thousands of dancers would KILL for, even if the kid is a brat.
Even her partners that people have whined about have been almost universally beloved – only Redfoo was a real stinker.
@PH (#55) Hahahaha! I thought about the same… ahem… “problem” when I heard about Hayes. 🙂 This is JMO, but I think that girls mature faster than boys, so I just don’t think a 15-year-old boy will have the maturity to hack it – just the mental image of him trying to Rumba with Emma creeps me out. 😛
usually the stars don’t do all the ballroom and latin styles so i hope that tptb allows this pair to skip rumba at least. I can see Emma giving him the same style of choero she gave bill very character driven dances. I hope next season Emma gets someone to show off her full ability finally.
More consideration as in not always being paired with celebrities who won’t ever win the MBT, not more consideration as in preferential treatment, Heidi. Emma deserves better from this show, if for no other reason than the fact she has consistently had the leftovers.
I feel like making a random YouTube video and maybe I can be on a future season LOL
He does seem to be too young and immature for the show, and I don’t know what he’s going to be like when the show starts. But to me, he has a better attitude going into it than Cody did, Cody didn’t seemed like he didn’t really want to there, he seems like he’s actually excited to be doing the show
Sara, how do you know he’s too “immature” for the show when you haven’t seen him on the show yet and don’t him? Maybe he has an older soul kind of like Willow had who I ended up loving.
I have an old friend visiting and haven’t been able to be on the internet much (thanks to Heidi and Court for covering me). If Emma and Hayes are paired up, I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s a relief she’s with someone younger this time versus someone older. If he can keep his timing to the beat, etc she may be able to do great things with this guy.
To be fair I’m 20 and I think I may be too old for this guy. I don’t want to buy that teenage boys are intrinsically less mature than girls, but as I’ve said before I did something somewhat similar at 16-17, and would not have wanted to be younger. Tbh knowing Willow has been exposed to “the industry” and why Bethany started Youtubing, compared to a Vine star, he might also not have the life experience, similar to Cody Simpson, who I HATED!
I just asked my 20-year-old daughter about him and she called Hayes a little turdshit, so I guess I wasn’t too far off. But I’m hoping that he’s open enough to enjoy himself and make the experience a formative one, and that Emma can be just the thing he needs. If not, I hope he’s an early departure.
I have to say reading the comments in this post is rather fun.
Between the list of psycho fans, visions of accidental teenage boners on the dancefloor and
“turdshit”, I’m having a great time. Thanks guys!
I don’t have any sympathy for Emma either, she should get a big boost in social media attention/followers from getting this guy like Val and Allison have done in the past thanks to their partners. She’s also getting paid a packet. Saying that I don’t think this kid will last long either, especially if he can’t dance. His following seem like the kind that won’t bother or won’t be able to vote due to an early bedtime. I don’t understand why they went for a vine star rather than a YT one. I bet the lad thinks he’s hit the jackpot, just wait until he gets to dance with Emma in her costumes. Hope the camera doesn’t focus on his pants 😉