Right out of step

When Spy editor Ricardo Simich confided to the Herald on Sunday newsroom that Hannah Tamaki was to be a contestant on the upcoming Mediaworks production of Dancing With The Stars, the reaction was predictable.

It was much the same as the wider public reaction when the story was published. The reaction reached micdrop status when The Project host Kanoa Lloyd chipped in with: “I love Dancing With The Stars . . . I don’t really think I want to see a homophobic paso doble or a xenophobic cha-cha.”

A lightbulb went on somewhere at Mediaworks and the Vision NZ party leader was axed.

Once more we’re left wondering what form of reality TV producers inhabit. A sense of deja vu is understandable as it’s only four months after Mediaworks had to edit Chris Mansfield out of Married At First Sight when it was revealed he had a warrant outstanding for domestic violence in the US.

In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised at another TV show courting controversy for ratings. We’ve already had such dubious decisions as dropping the N-word on The Real Housewives of Auckland or a convicted killer singing an Eminem song on The X Factor NZ.

And not everyone has to agree with the politics or beliefs of people gusseted up in their Sunday best to cavort for charity. Rodney Hide and Christine Rankin boogied into the second series. Michael Laws jived along on the third, and who can forget David Seymour (we know we would like to)?

But the Tamaki view of the world, while enjoying a cult following in pockets of New Zealand, is polarising to put it mildly. One suspects few New Zealanders could truly relax and enjoy the light entertainment without some compunction about the divisive and disagreeable ideology behind the smile.

So here’s a tip when selecting contestants next time: canvass your colleagues first.

Or you could run it by the Herald on Sunday newsroom [wink].