Matt Walsh Pauses Involvement In ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Until WGA & AMPTP Make Agreement
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that two-time Emmy acting nominee Matt Walsh is hitting pause on his participation in this season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.
His decision comes asthe dance competition has come under scrutiny amid the writers strike, with the WGA picketing rehearsals yesterday in at least two locations around Los Angeles.
Additionally this AM, ABC is putting plans in place to delay the Sept. 26 premiere of Dancing with the Stars. A final decision on pushing the premiere will be made in the coming days In a statement to Deadline from Walsh, the actor says, “I am taking a pause from Dancing with the Stars until an agreement is made with the WGA.” “I was excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement,” the actor continued. “This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal.
I have been and will always stand with my union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA,” he said. “Beyond our union artists, I am sensitive to the many people impacted by the strike and I hope for a speedy and fair resolution, and to one day work again with all the wonderful people I met at DWTS who tolerated my dancing,” added Walsh who has been picketing during the SAG-AFTRA strike at Disney’s Burbank studio.
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