Rupaul’s Drag Race Finalist Courtney Act to Compete on DWTS Australia
So last week, we talked about RPDR season 8 champ Bob the Drag Queen starting a campaign to get on DWTS. In an interesting development, RPDR season 6 runner-up Courtney Act (aka Shane Jenek) was just announced as a contestant on DWTS Australia:
Drag artist Courtney Act is set to appear on Australia’s Dancing with the Stars with a male partner.
Act, whose real name is Shane Jenek, was the final contestant to be announced in the 11-strong line-up for the celebrity-studded dance competition.
The drag queen, who made her name name on RuPaul’s Drag Race, revealed the news on Twitter and jokingly referred to her costume mishap while entering Celebrity Big Brother in January 2018, which she went on to win.
Courtney posted her promo pic on IG, which I think is pretty cute 🙂
Worth mentioning: Courtney’s no stranger to reality TV – aside from RPDR and her aforementioned win on Celebrity Big Brother UK, she also competed on the inaugural season of Australian Idol and is set to compete in the Eurovision song contest later this month. Note that they’ve got her dancing with a male pro, and there seems to be very few people getting worked up about it – I think if she does well (and she probably will), we could see DWTS here in the States taking notice and perhaps more seriously entertaining the notion of casting a drag queen for season 28. At this point, my vote’s for Ginger Minj – she was just in Dumplin’ and Super Drags, she’s got a theater and singing background, and there’s currently a bit of a grassroots campaign to get her cast as Ursula in the upcoming live action version of The Little Mermaid. She’s also short, which should eliminate a lot of the trickiness of pairing her with a male pro to dance with. But in the grand scheme of things, I’m just glad to see drag queens in the mainstream 😉
They brought back dwts Australia! 🙂
DWTS Australia is one of the international versions I enjoyed, so I’m happy to see it returning.
I’ve said it before, I hope our version thinks more outside the box with their casting next season. I will be curious if they make sure everyone at least has some dancing ability so we don’t get another Joe/Bobby situation.
[…] Page Rupaul’s Drag Race Finalist Courtney Act to Compete on DWTS Australia Free DWTS Newsletter Want to receive the latest news on Dancing with the Stars sent […]
Okay. How do I watch this season as a Yank? Cause Courtney is fun, daring and smart. And a drag queen, all things I absolutely adore.
She’s got a lot of natural warmth, enthusiasm and likability, all things that could help her in DWTSA.
I agree with Ginger Minj on DWTS. She’s charming and crazy talented. I personally would attempt a death drop on a bed of nails to see Jinx Monsoon or Shangela on DWTS.
Courtney is a smart, intelligent and funny queen. She is also genuine and enthusiastic, all things that seem to go over well in the competition.
Now, how do I watch the Australia version over here?
Susan – the tenplay website will have full episodes, though you’ll need to use a VPN to bypass the geoblock. I’m getting excited for the premiere – it’s on a new network, has been revamped and the new ballroom that’s still being put together looks identical to the CBS ballroom. So with no spring DWTS US Season, this will have to do!
Guys check out Courtney’s Jive on youtube! First same-sex couple on Dwts in any format, and she crushed this jive like no other. I have to say I’m loving this trio of judges as well!
https://youtu.be/iTeLAnTsUuE
Between Craig, Sharna, and Courtney, I finally have a reason to watch the Australian version. I’ve always wanted to see her compete on the US version, but this will do. I liked her on Drag Race, but I loved her on Celebrity Big Brother. I hope she wins it all.
So I was looking at the cast and if Courtney’s partner is equally as fun as he seems online..I already like him and hope they win. The rest of the cast seems really fun too. Something for everyone, which I really liked about the recent casts on our version as well.
Thank you Kikki! Courtney is an all-around big talent. Looking forward to see what she can bring to the show. Her eagle runway with wings on RPDR is one of my favorite runway looks on RPDR.
Courtney and Josh were equal top of the leaderboard last night though there were issues with their cha cha. They have a great chance of winning, even more so with international voting and the week-long voting period because I think fans of Courtney around the globe will really get behind her. If there was no international voting, then Samuel would be the favourite – he’s done well in both dances, and is loved by all Australians for the cancer charity he started with his late sister (their story is inspirational and heartbreaking). Not sure if the producers here are as strategic as in the US, but Courtney had the pimp spot last week; Samuel had it this week while Courtney opened the show.
Courtney/Shane did an extraordinary tango for most memorable year. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth watching. In the package and during the extended host time after the dance, there was a lot of talk about gender identity and gender fluidity. I’ll admit it opened my eyes, the way Shane explained it in such an honest and heartfelt way. Quite remarkable given this is during prime time on free to air tv.
Courtney and Josh are a really great partnership and honestly, it’s theirs to lose. I think it will be between them and Samuel Johnson, who is absolutely adored in Australia – his MMY dance is desperately heartbreaking.