PureDWTS Season 28: Bobby Bones Weighs in on Sharna & Artem’s Dismissal and Sean Spicer, Talks to Lauren Alaina About Her Partner
So…I was at odds with this one, because while I think none of us really want to hear any more of Bobby’s thoughts on DWTS, a lot of people are still wrestling with the question of why Artem & Sharna were let go. But for once (and I can’t believe I’m saying this), Bobby made some good points on his podcast yesterday about their dismissal, as well as Sean Spicer’s participation. Bobby’s commentary on the whole situation starts at the 88:43 mark and ends at the 92:52 mark, if you want to listen for yourself; I’ve taken the liberty of transcribing below (pain in the ass, but I know some of you won’t bother listening and will just start going off in the comments regardless – so at least do me the favor of reading this):
Bobby: Let me say this. You know they announced the Dancing with the Stars cast yesterday, and then it came out that Sharna, my partner from last season, is not returning to Dancing with the Stars. She is not the only one – they didn’t bring back Artem on the guys’ side, so it wasn’t just a Sharna thing. But I can tell you that I reached out to her before they announced and was like “Hey what’s up? Who’s your partner?” and she was like “I don’t know yet!”
Amy: Oh.
Bobby: And this was like two or three days BEFORE the announce. And I was like “oh, cool” because she had just been on a trip and she came back and I was like “Oh cool, let me know!” When you see who you get, y’know. So a few days before, she didn’t know she wasn’t gonna be on the show. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn here – I hope not! Uh, so, then she found and texted me and was like “Oh, I didn’t know…this is crazy! I had no idea.”
Amy: Whaaaat?! Wow, I mean, because she’s been on, like-
Bobby: She’s been on for 11 seasons, 12 seasons, yeah. So she wrote [he goes on to read a passage from Sharna’s farewell IG post]. A lot of these sites have now coupled me with the story, going “well this is why, controversial winner!”
Lunchbox: *chuckles* I saw that, yeah.
Bobby: Which it’s not – cause why would Artem not come back, either?
Lunchbox: Right, had nothing to do with you.
Bobby: I would have loved if it had everything to do with me, don’t think that I wouldn’t think that was great – not because of her, but that we just broke the system so much that they’re having to- that’s not the case. Ummm…so…Sharna’s awesome, I talked to her before, I talked to her right after, she’s like “You’re not gonna believe it. I can’t believe it!” So she’s not back. I don’t really know WHY…I’m not sure. I have great relationships with everybody – all that crew on DWTS, obviously with Sharna, so I don’t know what the deal is with her. So…I did see on Instagram that she wrote that…
Amy: That’s a bummer. It’d be different if she was a part of the decision, like “Y’know what, I’m just not gonna do it this year”, but she was just as shocked…
Bobby: I talked to Lauren Alaina last night for a long time, cause she’s doing it. We put a dancing picture on my Instastory, of us dancing…she hasn’t started practicing yet. She’s still in that phase of “this is gonna be so fun!”
Amy: *chuckles* Wait till it rules your life!
Bobby: But I was like “Hey, you’re gonna have some real issues of inadequacy with this. Cause you’re gonna go and you’re just not gonna be able to get it and you’re gonna go ‘oh well I’m the worst’ and it’s gonna bubble into your life and you’ll go ‘well I’m just not good at anything’ and when that happens – CALL ME. Whatever time it is – cause I struggled from that. 2 or 3 days of doing 8, 9 hours a day, like I couldn’t get it, and I was like ‘I’m just sad’, cause I’m not smart enough to get what I see people doing all around me. If that happens, CALL ME. Cause wherever you are, I was there, PLUS.” Cause I had never danced! She called the postshow/preshow yesterday, she called me right after she got on Good Morning America, this is a call from Lauren Alaina yesterday…
[goes to recorded call between Lauren and Bobby]
Bobby: Have you started practicing dancing?
Lauren: NO!
Bobby: No practice yet???
Lauren: No! NONE!
Bobby: And have you announced your partner?
Lauren: I haven’t even met my partner! I don’t know who it is!
Bobby: Wait, they were up there, though, today…
Lauren: The people were there, but they didn’t tell us who our partners were.
Bobby: You follow someone, one of the pros on your Instagram already, that’s not your partner???
Lauren: No I followed him because I sang for him last year.
Bobby: I thought that too, but all the conspiracy websites are saying that Alan is your partner.
Lauren: But, I would be HAPPY if he was, I love him.
[call ends]
Bobby: I talked to her last night, she was like “They said I’m gonna have a good one, but I don’t know who it is!” She still doesn’t know. So, I’m excited for the season, I plan on going for the premiere, I saw that there was some drama because they put Sean Spicer on there, people upset about that. Y’know, I probably would have stayed away from putting anyone political on there, too…there’s a reason why you don’t wanna come on the show and not talk about politics. There’s certain places people go for politics, there’s certain places people don’t – THIS definitely isn’t! He won’t last long, anyway – physically, I don’t think he can handle it. So, yeah…that’s the deal. Pretty good cast, pretty excited about that, my thing on Sharna was I didn’t know, she didn’t know, and then I saw her post yesterday after she had told me that she was kinda upset about not being able to be able to go back. She may go back another time, I don’t know…but there you go. Everybody’s asking me to say something about it, so I said it – I didn’t know, she didn’t know. Alright, cool…
So, some immediate takeaways: the celebs have NOT met their pro partners yet (and vice-versa), so it’s possible they don’t know who they’re with yet. Also clear that Sharna was as caught off-guard about the whole thing as Artem was, and was gobsmacked to find out she wasn’t coming back this season. Bobby also appears to still be a bit of a vainglorious little shit, who likes to think his win “broke the system”. *Sigh* However – he does echo what we’ve all been saying about Spicer’s casting, so he gets minor brownie points from me…you know this show is in deep sh*t when even the most controversial winner ever says “Oof, shouldn’t have cast Spicer, guys.”
Someone also sent me the clip below (can’t figure out if this is from the same episode or a different one), where Bobby makes some good points about how cutting Artem loose was a bad decision…
B*bby B*nes actually making sense? Wbk this was an idiotic decision. pic.twitter.com/JZj4PXBdaK
— Lorraine (@LKat716) August 22, 2019
I’m also being told that Artem is set to appear on the Bella’s podcast this coming Wednesday, so we’ll likely get more of his side of the story as well…stay tuned.
Many of you have asked me for my own thoughts on why Sharna & Artem were let go…and to be honest, I’ve remained quiet, simply because I’m just as stumped as you guys. I guess I can maybe kinda see why Sharna might have been the sacrificial lamb – she could have been removed so as to not remind viewers of the dumpster fire of last season, or maybe the fact that she’s been an outspoken critic of the show in the past could have benched her; compared to media darlings like Witney, Lindsay, Emma, & Jenna, she hasn’t been afraid to speak her mind about the show in the past (note that the last time we had an outspoken female pro who criticized the show in the press, it was Lacey – and her appearances on the show dwindled pretty quickly after that). Is Sharna wrong for speaking her mind? Not always – but from a PR point of view, she may be more of a risk than the new management is willing to take. Plus she no longer has her “It’s Sharna’s turn to win!” plot armor to protect her spot on the show anymore. My only other thought about why Sharna and Artem may have been let go is due to other projects they had going on – perhaps Artem’s participation in Total Bellas or Sharna’s gig as a judge on DWTSAu gave the (incorrect) impression that their hearts weren’t 100% in the DWTS game anymore…? I’m really just spitballing, guys – it makes no sense to me, it makes no sense to you, hell – it makes no sense to Sharna and Artem.
Thoughts?
I can’t help but think Sharna and Artem were specifically cut in order to get more press for the show. Sharna is the champ and one of the more high profile females. Artem is currently the pro with the most buzz and he’s been getting headlines on all the major media outlets almost on a weekly basis due to his relationship. It’s unfortunate that his relationship outside of dwts would have an impact on his employment with the show. If they let more lower profile pros go, I don’t think it would have made an interesting headline and less press. The pro cuts along with the Spicer casting seems like it was purely to get dwts in the headlines. Seems like the network doesn’t care if it’s good or bad publicity, they’ll take anything.
Oh my! How heartbreaking to find out 2-3 days before the reveal you are cut without a solid reasoning. I can’t help but feel for them, I am sure their schedules were cleared and all other potential job offers could have been turned down, as they assumed they would be apart of Season 28.
I too am pretty stumped as to why Sharna and Artem were chosen to be let go, Sharna especially as I always thought she was one of the GP favorites and as reigning champ an easy shoe in this season. If you go by stats and logistics, maybe that is how Artem could have been chosen, since he hasn’t made the finals or very far in a lot of seasons (a lot due to who they gave him as a partner and what he had to work with). Sharna has done very well though, she has made top 5 I believe 8/12 seasons as pro. I wonder if them being cut is just this season to try and switch the cast up or a long term ending decision. Either way I hope they both succeed in their future careers and I very much enjoyed watching them both.
I am completely dumbfounded on this whole thing. How does the show NOT bring back the reigning champion especially since the reigning champion seem to be ready for another season? I am going to miss Sharna so much! And as for Artem, where did this come from? I was so looking forward to seeing him back to. I’m so sad over these two. I always listen to the Bellas podcast and I’m really curious to hear what Artem has to say.
I know people are going crazy about Sean Spicer but I couldn’t care less about him. What upsets me more than Mr. Spicer’s involvement is the lack of involvement by these two… SMH…
Seriously DWTS….what gives?
I was so confused why both of them were cut. The list of female pros are so strong, so they did have to sacrifice someone, and with Peta and Cheryl back, I guess they chose Sharna. Emma is great with older partners, so I’m not surprised she wasn’t but and Lindsay and Whitney are the shows darlings.
As for the male pros, this one I was a little bit more surprised with because Artem, in my opinion, is a better choreographer, and teacher, then some of the male pros (particularly Glab and Keo — I do think these two have improved over the past few years but it’s a hit or miss).
There is a reason why out of the male pros Artem and then Val are the only ones who have won a trophy…I’m surprised more about Artem leaving because while it’s obvious Val is the “Golden Boy” for the show (which he doesn’t deserve) Artem was the 2nd most popular male pro and I can’t believe he was cut before the others.There are so many good professional women dancers on the show that i’m not fully shocked about sharna but surely she isn’t below Jenna or Peta!
@LadyLenox I also wonder, if they did axe Jenna, it would cause an uproar with Val. Not that particularly matters, but I think Sharna was an “easier” cut for them.
Jenna’s a better choreographer than Sharna, IMO. She may not be a better teacher – she seems to do better with dancers with some experience – but she’s one of those who has a shot at Emmy. I don’t know that Sharna does. Too much winking at the camera.
A. When did Artem win DWTS? SCD doesn’t count – different show, different audience.
B. How do you know he’s second most popular after Val?? Val is “Golden Boy” – that makes me laugh. Used to be Derek’s title, said by Cbros fans.
I’m not saying that Artem deserved to be cut – I would rather see someone else get axed, like Gleb or Val. I’m just saying your logic is a bit faulty.
Artem won the trophy before Val I never mentioned it being the same show.They are the only two who have won at all on the men’s side…I’m going by social media following Artem had the second biggest following out of the men even before he was dating Nikki Bella.He is a popular pro and a tour favorite.I see more people asking for Artem back than Sharna…In my opinion the cutting of both this season was a huge mistake.
The clip you posted of Bobby Bones talking about Artem and Sharna (said didn’t make sense to cut Artem because of all the press he gets now with Nikki and because Sharna is like the most popular female pro) was from the post-show pre show at the beginning of the podcast from the day before 8/22.
Excuse me, correction, the clip about Artem and Sharna posted above was from the 8/21 show.
And FYI: Bobby Bones mentioned on today’s show (8/23) that Sharna still does not know why she was not asked to return. They texted about it again last night. He said Sharna wondered if it was because of the controversial win last season. She also came up a couple of other possible undisclosed reasons. I wonder what those reasons were…
I do wonder too (like Sharna) if it was because she is one of the faces of the controversy last season…not really fair, though if that’s the case. Not sure about Bobby’s point from the other day that Artem was cut too, so Sharna being cut was not about the win. Didn’t we hear from a few folks (e.g. Val and Jenna) that they were down a female celebrity last week? Wouldn’t that mean they had to cut one of the male pros and Artem was the unfortunate choice.
Whatever the reason(s), crappy way to treat two loyal pros, by telling them only a few days before the reveal that they were out.
The only reason I can see why Sharna wasn’t asked back was because of Peta returning. I still don’t know why they asked two new pros to join over Artem and Sharna or promoting someone from the troupe, but they must have had a reason, and honestly I’m all for fresh blood. And that’s assuming Daniella winds up with a partner or not. It’s a bit hypocritical if the controversy really is why Sharna was let go, considering two of their casting choices this season. Still, I don’t know if I believe that’s the reason. I think it just came down to they had one female pro too many and someone had to go.
https://www.eonline.com/news/1067021/why-dancing-with-the-stars-courted-controversy-for-season-28-and-is-standing-by-its-choices
According to this E News article, Sharna was cut for budgetary reasons. Could that be true for both Sharna & Artem? Cheaper to keep the other pros over those two? Just spitballing cause I’m honestly baffled.
Kara: Maybe they had too many female pros this season, but why cut Sharna of all the female pros? She is the defending champ and one of the best choreographers and teachers (doesn’t just phone it in if her contestant has no experience like a couple of the others) and can deal with difficult personalities. She also has more seniority than Jenna, Witney, Lindsay, and Emma since she was a pro since Season 16 and on the troupe since Season 13. And why would they allow Peta to return and displace Sharna if that is what happened? Peta didn’t do seasons 26 and 27, while Sharna has been loyal to the show since she started. I like Peta, but she didn’t seem too into returning based on comments up until last week and seemingly is very into her son and possibly having a 2nd child. And Cheryl has left the show for other projects. Again why Sharna?
Like Courtney hypothesized, Sharna might have been the sacrificial lamb for last’s seasons issues.
Again – Artem did NOT win DWTS.
I don’t know why sharna instead of Peta, but Cheryl is always going to have a spot, much like Derek or Mark would if they ever wanted to come back. None of the current pros can hold a candle to the originals.
Just spitbalin but if the showrunners asked the dancers if they would object to having someone on from the current administration, perhaps Sharna and Artem told them something they didn’t want to hear. Obviously Tom’s Convo with them made him upset enough to write about it. Dancers don’t have the same luxury as Tom, and even he imho walked a fine line by posting it.
Just saw the E! News story with one sentence about Sharna being cut for budgetary issues. Where’s the factual basis for that statement? I call BS since she is not likely even to be the pro who takes home the most based on her contract. What about Val, Cheryl and Peta? And presume even if some of the pros are more expensive than others, wouldn’t impact the bottom line too much. Thoughts?
@Karen C, I don’t know if budget had anything to do with it. I will blame American Idol for sucking the overall budget away from DWTS and having ABC consider the show an afterthought, but I really don’t think it had anything to do with Sharna and Artem being sidelined. Especially since they brought two new pros on. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know exactly what type of money each pro takes home, but I also have my doubts Sharna and Artem were taking home enough that production thought they were too costly.
When it comes to Artem, I always thought he was competing with Val, Maks, and Gleb in terms of filling the hot Russian type. And he was probably competing more with Gleb, as they essentially get saddled with non contenders. Again, it may have just come down to not having enough slots to go around. Val was going to be in, Alan and Brandon are the youngest and newest of the male pros, and Gleb pretty much fills the slot Artem would have taken.
Anna Treybunskya and others who were phased out says hello. Loyalty and seniority obviously never mattered that much. Also I have this memory of Sharna being on afterbuzz, with Anna cohosting after she had been cut, and there being some mild sort of exchange indicating Anna was sad to be cut, and Sharna indicating that tptb were trying to take the show up the next level (ie improve the show) thus the new pros were justified. There have been other subtle instances of her implying that she was bringing more to the show over others, and slamming Karina specifically once.
It really just comes down to any of them could have an expiration date for any old reason on the whim of producers.
Further, if Sharna was cut for budget reasons, wouldn’t she know that? Per Bobby Bones yesterday (8/23) show, he texted again with Sharna Thursday night and she still didn’t know why not coming back. He and his co-host were incredulous that she found out she was out only a few days before the reveal and she still doesn’t know WHY. And one possibility Sharna floated was the controversial win. It wasn’t said what she thought the other reasons could be.
Again, I don’t know how much the pros make per their contracts, but you have to think that Val, Cheryl and Peta garner more than the rest, and they are in this season. Likely more than Sharna and Artem. If they had to choose among the females, Jenna likely got saved because she just married Val. And again, Sharna could be unfairly viewed as the face of last season.
And I really don’t get why Artem was out over Gleb. Gleb is real pretty, but his choreo doesn’t do it for me and he seems to check-out if he doesn’t have a contender (e.g. Arike). I like Keo, but until last season, hasn’t shown much promise, and Brandon is a newbie. And there’s Artem, who is a long-standing pro who is now dating Nikki Bella, and like Bobby said, is getting lots of coverage on gossip sites/in the media. Why would you cut someone who is getting that much attention? But don’t agree with many decisions so far this season…
They aren’t going to ask the dancers opinions on the celebrities. You give the pros far more power than they actually have.
They don’t have to give Sharna a reason, Karen. All they have to say is “no partner for you this season, maybe next time.”
Maybe Val, Peta and Cheryl make more than Sharna but are also considered worth more. It’s kinda pointless to keep hashing it out over and over again. It’s done.
I also think that people are seriously over estimating people being upset by it. Sure, her fans are – but I believe that most people watch the show for the celebrities.
Heidi,
I agree that they aren’t required to give Sharna or any of the pros a reason, but it would be the classy thing to do so. Especially since Sharna seemed to be completely blindsided days before the reveal. She was given no indication she was out and completely expecting to be on given her history with the show and the fact she is the reigning champ. Betting she wouldn’t have gone on her retreat trip to Sedona the prior week if she had any inkling she was not returning…
Thought the point of this post and Courtney’s other post was to discuss our thoughts/theories on why Sharna and Artem were cut and thoughts on the E article stating that Sharna was cut for budget reasons. Maybe Val is considered worth more to TPTB, but not to me. Overrated. LOL. But you are right in that sense that it is done. But it still sucks for her and her fans.
The point of many posts are simply to report what we see on the web. Not necessarily to beat the subject to death.
As for the “classy thing to do” – these producers cast Sean Spicer. Classy? Take a 180 on that.