Season 30 ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Includes Same Sex Couple

“Dancing with the Stars” announced the first two celebrity cast members and that audiences will be big changes in store for its 30th season. “DWTS” will be doing something this season never tried before in its history, according to Parade Magazine on Aug. 30, 2021.

Andrew Llinares, “Dancing with the Stars” executive producer, gave reporters a sneak peek of the competitor line-up and talked about some of the changes viewers can expect during the ABC TCA presentation. The first two of the 15 celebrity lineup announced are gold medal Olympian gymnast 18-year-old Suni Lee and YouTube sensation JoJo Siwa, also 18. However, audiences will have to wait until September 8, when the remaining 13 “DWTS” celebs will be revealed on “Good Morning America.”

“Dancing with the Stars” is looking forward to Lee’s dancing because, as Paulette Cohn explains, athletes have performed well in past seasons, several of whom won the competition.

A partial list of athletes who collected the coveted “DWTS” mirrorball trophy includes NFL running back Emmitt Smith, Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympian gymnast Shawn Johnson, former NFL wide receiver Donald Driver, and MLB catcher David Ross; to name a few.

One of the exciting changes in the program is the premiere of its first same-sex dance couple. Jojo, who came out as pansexual and recently let the world know she has a girlfriend, will be paired with a female professional dancer. Both Tyra Banks and JoJo are excited to be part of the “Dancing with the Stars” historic season.

The second change is not really a change per se, as one of the judges was missing last season. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Len Goodman was unable to participate. However, he joins Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli on the “Dancing with the Stars” judges panel this season.

Llinares said Goodman’s return is “a full-circle moment. He was right there from the beginning and he’s going to be back again for this 30th season, along with the other three amazing judges, who were with us last year.”

However, the third change is bound to be enchanting. ABC announced each week would have its own theme, which this show has not done before. Llinares says he is thrilled about this; the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars” will be a unique event every week. They will be “doing brand-new things, so those themes will be revealed as to what they are as we go along.”

Written by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

Parade Magazine: Dancing with the Stars Reveals Groundbreaking Changes for Season 30, Including a Same-Sex Dance Couple; by Paulette Cohn
Parade Magazine: Dancing with the Stars Reveals the First Two Cast Members for Season 30! By Paulette Cohn

Images Courtesy of Disney|ABC Media Group – Used With Permission