How much do charities waltz away with after DWTS?
Charities won’t miss out if contestants are dumped out early, writes
Heated discussion over the voting process for Dancing with the Stars has seen broadcaster Three reassure fans that charities won’t miss out.
Lotto presenter and actress Sonia Gray was sent home in week one, despite viewers’ texts bouncing back in a ‘‘technical error’’ before voting had closed.
Then Edge breakfast co-host Eli Matthewson and dance partner Jonny Williams, New Zealand’s first same-sex DWTS couple, were eliminated Monday, despite sitting near the top of the judge’s leader board.
Now, Three has said all money raised by text voting will be split evenly among the nine nominated charities, meaning those supported by contestants eliminated early in the season won’t lose out.
Making a vote costs 99 cents, and ‘‘all of the telcos are waiving their fees,’’ a Discovery spokesperson said. ‘‘The only small fee is to the text service provider.’’
That means about 95 cents from every vote goes through.
Concerns over the voting process have led some fans to donate directly to charities instead of via the show’s official format.
Matthewson’s nominated charity was OutLine Aotearoa, which operates a free support line with rainbow specialist counselling and trans peer support.
Following his departure from the show donations on OutLine’s Givealittle page reached more than $14,000 by Wednesday, from more than 300 donors. An additional $1300 had been donated directly, OutLine general manager Claire Black said. ‘‘What is most meaningful about these donations, and what I’ve never seen before, is the amount of people who came together to thank Eli and Jonny, and say they’ll use our support, or refer their loved ones who need it.’’
While the charity does a lot for rainbow communities, Black said, it has a low profile compared to many on the show: ‘‘Being selected was absolutely huge for us’’.
The day after his shock elimination,
‘‘People are applauding the work and asking how they can help. It’s a massive deal.’’ David Letele
Matthewson said: ‘‘I’ve been on a personal journey my whole life, unpacking all sorts of internalised homophobia.’’
The 2019 season of DWTS raised $499,286 from viewers’ paid text votes, which MediaWorks said was the most money the reality competition, and Three, had ever seen out of a show. And because this year’s season has seen more than a million viewers, according to Three, the show’s producers expect they could top that number.
Three’s owner Discovery said it’s too early in the game to tally up how much money has been raised compared to other seasons ‘‘but it’s tracking very well’’.
Each celebrity on DWTS is also
paid a weekly appearance fee. Neither Discovery, nor the celebrities the Star-Times spoke with, would confirm the amount.
‘‘This is always a private matter, unless the individual chooses to publicly disclose,’’ the spokesperson said.
However, former contestant ACT leader David Seymour told press that he received ‘‘between $1000 and $2000’’ on his season. Seymour donated ‘‘about the average Auckland salary’’ to his chosen charity, Kidsline.
Dave ‘‘Buttabean’’ Letele is doing the same.
His charity Just Move, mainly known as BBM (Buttabean Motivation), provides free community health programmes, cooking classes, education for youth and employment. During the pandemic, Letele also launced BBM Foodshare to help feed close to 20,000 people.
‘‘I am the charity,’’ he said. ‘‘Everything I earn from all my engagements goes into running our programmes.’’
He’s got three gyms, and said the lease on just one costs $140,000 per annum. ‘‘We don’t make any money from membership, and it costs a lot to keep the lights on.’’
The size of the show’s audience has already ‘‘helped massively,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of new eyeballs on the work we do. It’s been crazy sitting in cafes in the past week. I’ve had people come up to me and ask if their kids can come and watch me train. People are applauding the work and asking how they can help. It’s a massive deal for us.’’
That’s why he signed onto the production, Letele said, despite his nervousness about hitting the dance floor.
‘‘I talk a lot about being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and this is me leading by example on that. I’ve never been more uncomfortable in my life.
‘‘The good thing is, everything raised is split evenly. If I go out, they all get the same. Every charity there is great, and they’re all going it a bit tougher right now, because New Zealanders are doing it a bit tougher right now.’’
Other charities benefiting from the show are Autism NZ, Assistant Dogs of New Zealand, Outline, Gumboot Friday, Starship Foundation, Fred Hollows Foundation, Youthline, and ADHD NZ.