Not everyone is excited about the new cast of “Dancing With the Stars.” Following Wednesday’s announcement of the pros and celebrities set to compete on Season 32, former cast member Sharna Burgess expressed his disappointment in the casting of Adrian Peterson.
“There’s one person that I’d like to share that I’m really shocked is on there is Adrian Peterson, the football player… The man has been charged with child abuse of his four-year-old son in the way that he punishes him and that is just devastating for me,” Burgess said during the latest episode of iHeartRadio’s “Old-ish” podcast. “I’m telling you now if I walked into a room and that was my partner, I would turn around and walk right out. There is no way — now being a mother — I would be able to stomach that.”
The NFL running back has a history of legal woes. In 2014, he was charged with felony child abuse; he ultimately pleaded no contest and landed a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless assault. In 2022, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The charges were later dropped.
Peterson will dance with pro Britt Stewart, whose Instagram account is now being flooded with comments about how disappointed people are in the network’s casting.
Burgess, who has been a pro on 14 seasons of “Dancing With the Stars,” previously expressed her disappointment over not being asked back for Season 32.
“Because it was such a shock, because I wasn’t expecting it, it was tough. It’s not the first time. My last five years on the show have been rocky — not because of the show. I love the show deeply, but we had a new executive producer come in, I think five years ago now. I had just won with Bobby Bones and he decided to not bring me back,” Burgess said on the first episode of “Oldish.”
During Thursday’s episode, she noted that she feels no ill-will toward the show, as she knows the decision wasn’t personal, and will keep watching this season, supporting her friends.