“Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kenya Moore is joining the 30th season of “Dancing With the Stars,” according to TMZ.
ABC has not confirmed the casting. but TMZ is rarely wrong when it comes to advance casting news. ABC has an incentive to create buzz by allowing some casting names to leak out in advance. For example, singer and actress JoJo Siwa will become the first celebrity on the show to have a same-sex dance partner.
And TMZ has also said Olivia Jade, “Full House” star Lori Laughlin’s social media influencer daughter, has been named to the cast. Laughlin was imprisoned for two months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud as part of a major college admissions scandal. Laughlin and her husband admitted to bribing a coach $500,000 to give Jade and her older sister “athlete” status so they could get into the University of Southern California despite never being part of any crew team.
“Dancing” often features people who are trying to resurrect their images after controversies such as swimmer Ryan Lochte, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and “Tiger King” participant Carole Baskin.
The other TMZ cast leak was Team USA gold medal-winning gymnast Suni Lee. The show over the years has featured many Olympic stars such as Mary Lou Retton, Simone Biles, Lauren Hernandez, Hope Solo and Shawn Johnson.
Moore has previously done reality competition shows “The Worst Cooks in America” and “Celebrity Apprentice” when Donald Trump was host. She finished seventh on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2015 and was the first eliminated in 2016 on “Worst Cooks” on the Food Network.
Her Atlanta home is also is featured on the current season of “MTV Cribs.”
“Dancing With the Stars” has featured three other “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
NeNe Leakes finished seventh season 18 in 2014. Kim Zolciak appeared in 2015 for season 21 and withdrew the third week after experiencing health issues. In 2016, Kim Fields, who was on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” for a single season, placed in a tie for seventh.
The entire “Dancing With the Stars” 30th season cast is set to be named Thursday, Sept. 8, and the season is scheduled to debut on Monday, Sept. 20, with Tyra Banks back as host. The four judges ― Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough ― remain the same.
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