JoJo Fletcher Hints ‘The Bachelor’ Producers Blocked Her From Doing ‘Dancing With The Stars’
JoJo Fletcher is siding with Kaitlyn Bristowe regarding the lack of opportunities for Bachelorette stars to compete on Dancing With the Stars. On the heels of Kaitlyn’s complaints that she was blocked by Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss from competing on the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, Fletcher teased that she also had an offer on the table.
JoJo Fletcher told Refinery 29 that she “would have jumped on the chance to compete on DWTS, but “some contractual things kinda got in the way.”
Like Bristowe, Fletcher thinks there seems to be a DWTS double standard regarding opportunities for female leads from the ABC franchise. While original Bachelorette Trista Sutter competed on the first season of DWTS back in the show’s prehistoric days, no other female lead from the franchise has been given the opportunity to vie for the mirrorball trophy.
“I will say, I hope that now that it’s come to light that the Bachelorettes haven’t really had the opportunity before [to appear on DWTS] that [the situation] it changes,” JoJo said.
Fletcher, who is engaged to Jordan Rodgers, revealed that an ongoing theory is that Dancing With the Stars could get in the way of post-Bachelor relationships, but she said that shouldn’t matter especially since several Bachelor leads (Jake Pavelka, Sean Lowe, Chris Soules, and, most recently Nick Viall) have all been given the opportunity, while their fiancées cheered them on from the sidelines with their Neil Lane rings a-blinging.
“If it’s a decision that [the Bachelorette is] making and their partner supports it, then let them do it,” JoJo reasoned.
“You know, if your relationship fails because of Dancing With the Stars, it’s not because of Dancing With the Stars. If your relationship is strong, it’s gonna last no matter what.”
JoJo Fletcher’s Bachelorette predecessor took to Twitter last month to slam Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss for allowing Viall to compete on the current season of the show.
“Actually I was offered [Dancing With The Stars], had the contract & Mike Fleiss told me I wasn’t allowed,” Kaitlyn tweeted. “He said he didn’t want people wanting fame after his show.”
Bristowe maintained that there is a double standard, telling Entertainment Tonight she spoke out about Viall’s DWTS casting because she thinks it is unfair that female franchise alums aren’t offered the same post-show opportunities as the male leads and reiterating that she was told by Fleiss that “it is bad for his brand, and that he is sick of people wanting fame from his show.”
Fleiss responded that the former Bachelorette star now has his full support to join DWTS any time she wants to, to which Bristowe fired back that his support was two years too late.
While JoJo Fletcher is now teasing a similar story to Kaitlyn’s, Dancing with the Stars execs sided with Fleiss in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter. DWTS EP’s Joe Sungkur and Ashley Edens said it’s not always feasible to cast Bachelorette alums on the show even if a contract has been drawn up because the celebrity lineup isn’t actually finalized until producers are able to map out the entire cast. If too many other reality stars are on the roster, Bachelorette stars like Kaitlyn Bristowe and JoJo Fletcher won’t make the cut.
“In some seasons, it works out, and some seasons, it doesn’t. This season we wanted Nick,” Edens explained to THR.
JoJo Fletcher doesn’t seem as upset over the DWTS drama as Bristowe does, so perhaps she wasn’t as serious about joining the show. Still, JoJo doesn’t agree with the thinking that a stint on the celebrity dance-off could potentially cause a Bachelorette breakup.
“Then why would the Bachelor be able to do it?” Fletcher asked Refinery 29. “So I think there might be [a double standard]. I don’t know. You know?”
Take a look at the video below to see JoJo Fletcher talking about the current season of DWTS.
[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]
