Two Olympians, a former governor and a rapper-turned-contractor will try to dance their way into America’s hearts.
The cast of Season 23 of “Dancing With the Stars” was revealed Tuesday morning on “Good Morning America.”
Vying for the Mirror Ball trophy this time around are:
- Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke — Fresh off his scandal in Rio, Lochte is diving into the competition.
- Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy — Like Lochte, Hernandez is leaping into the fray after winning the gold in Rio.
- Former “Brady Bunch” star Maureen McCormick and Artem Chigvintsev — Taking a page from her TV mom Florence Henderson who competed in 2010, McCormick will put on her dancing shoes this season.
- Talk show host Amber Rose and Maksim Chmerkovskiy — Rose came to fame as the former girlfriend of rapper Kanye West and ex-wife of rapper Wiz Khalifa, but she’s written her own way since then as a model, actress and host of VH1’s “The Amber Rose Show.”
- “Little Women: LA” reality star Terra Jole and Sasha Farber — Jole is both a cast member and an executive producer for the Lifetime reality series which chronicles the lives of little people. She just gave birth to her second child and also stars in the reality show “Terra’s Little Family.”
- Former “Taxi” star Marilu Henner and Derek Hough — The radio host and author is best known for her role as Elaine on the sitcom, which ran from 1978 to 1983.
- Former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Emma Slater — Perry didn’t make the cut the two times he ran for President of the United States, but he will be angling for votes on the show.
- Former child star Jake T. Austin and Jenna Johnson — Fans fell in love with Austin on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” and he’ll be angling to transform that fan base into votes.
- Former pro football player Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold — The former wide receive for the Detroit Lions is newly retired from the gridiron.
- Super producer and recording artist Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Allison Holker — The man who helped bring the world such musical acts as Toni Braxton and TLC is also a Grammy-winning artist in his own right.
- Former rapper Vanilla Ice and Witney Carson — “Ice Ice Baby” made him a star in the early 90s, but more recently the man born Robert Van Winkle has found success renovating homes.
- Race car driver James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess — Hinchcliffe survived a horrifying crash on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2015, which the show is sure to address.
- Country singer Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko — Kramer joins the cast just days after thanking fans for supporting her in the midst of a split from her husband Mike Caussin.
“I think it’s time to hang up my Speedos and put on my dancing shoes,” Lochte said Tuesday morning on GMA. “I’m going to treat this kind of like going into the Olympics.”
The new gig comes at a good time for Lochte, who returned from the Olympics under a dark cloud for lying about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio. Four major sponsors walked away from the swimmer.
This season will also welcome back some veterans.
Derek Hough confirmed on Instagram Monday that he would be returning to the dance floor.
Hough took some time off after winning Season 21 with Bindi Irwin. He had been set to star this fall in the Broadway revival of “Singin’ in the Rain.” But he explained that the production had been unable to secure a theater and has been postponed.
Source CNN.
