Wanya Morris: Joey Fatone Responds To ‘Fat White Boy’ Comment, Issues Challenge To ‘DWTS’ Competitor

Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris playfully dissed fellow former boy bander Joey Fatone during the Season 22 premiere of Dancing with the Stars, and now he’s going to have to face the ‘NSYNC star. Joey recently responded to Wanya’s harsh words about his weight, and he revealed that he’s coming to the DWTS ballroom to give Wanya a piece of his mind.

Wanya Morris said that he’s been interested in competing on Dancing with the Stars for nine years, and he decided to bring his east coast swing to the ballroom during an extremely competitive season—he’s currently tied for first place with America’s Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco and Good Morning America meteorologist Ginger Zee. However, Wanya’s biggest challenge might not be outscoring the chiseled, blue-eyed model and the bubbly ray of sunshine who has been dubbed the second coming of Bindi Irwin. Instead, his most difficult feat might be giving up one of the perks of being a member of Boyz II Men: all the Philly steaks he can eat.

Wanya Morris credits Joey Fatone’s second-place finish during Season 4 as one of the reasons he decided to finally join Dancing with the Stars, but Morris didn’t exactly flatter the ‘NSYNC singer when he mentioned him during the premiere.

“If this fat white boy can do it…” Morris joked.

During a recent interview with Wetpaint, Joey Fatone responded to Morris’ comment about his weight.

“‘If a fat white guy can dance, why can’t a fat black guy?’ is basically what he was saying. Yes, Wan! Do it man,” Fatone said.

The My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 star went on to say that he and Wanya Morris are actually good friends.

“It was a joke, of course,” Fatone said. “I love to make fun of myself as well, so it doesn’t bother me.”

However, Joey Fatone thinks that he and Wanya Morris could both benefit from losing a little weight, so he challenged his pal to a competition to see who can get “skinny.” Fatone pointed out that Morris should have an easier time slimming down because of all the cardio that he’s doing during Dancing with the Stars rehearsals, but he’s still willing to face off against his friend in a Battle of the De-Bulging.

“Let’s see how much weight we can both lose,” Fatone said.

Wanya Morris hasn’t responded to Joey Fatone’s challenge yet, but he’ll get a chance to on Monday night. During an interview with Energy 103.7, Joey revealed that he’ll be in the crowd at the March 28 taping of Dancing with the Stars.

“I’m going to talk to him about that,” Fatone promised.

The “Bye Bye Bye” singer might live to regret his challenge. During a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Wanya Morris revealed that hard work doesn’t scare him, and he’s going to do whatever he can to impress the judges. If he feels like losing weight will help him be even lighter on his “twinkle toes,” he’ll probably put in a little extra effort to drop a few pounds. However, Morris’ main focus will be on memorizing his dances and improving his technique.

“It’s all about work ethic. It’s all about being able to get in there, grind it out and get these things right because the judges—they’re judging on some really, really serious nuances. You’ve gotta make sure you’re hitting those things and I’m ready to just make sure I take on all of those things.”

This Monday is Latin Night on Dancing with the Stars, and Just Jared reports that Wayna Morris and pro partner Lindsay Arnold will be dancing the salsa to “Echa Pa’lla” by Pitbull. Last week, the couple performed a cha-cha to the Boyz II Men tune “Motown Philly,” and they infused it with a few nods to the boy band’s music video for the song. These included Wanya’s black and white striped jacket and a Geno’s Steaks restaurant set.

Boy band singers have always done well on Dancing with the Stars, but only one has taken home the Mirrorball Trophy — 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey won Season 2 of the show. Joey McIntyre finished third place during Season 1; Lance Bass came in third place during Season 7; and Nick Carter came in second behind Bindi Irwin last season. So if Wanya wants to do his fellow ’90s boy banders proud, he at least needs to make it to the final three.

You can see if Wanya Morris and Lindsay Arnold top the leaderboard again when Dancing with the Stars airs Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

[Image via Lindsay Arnold/Instagram]