‘ET’ Dances Around O’Dell Casting on ‘Dancing’
February 12, 2009 4:02 PM
The announcement of “Access Hollywood” host Nancy O’Dell joining the season’s “Dancing With the Stars” puts rival entertainment newsmagazine “Entertainment Tonight” in a precarious position.
“Stars” gets a large amount of coverage on “ET,” but Ms. O’Dell is the face of the competition. What to do?
If you’re “ET,” the answer appears to be: Refuse to cover it.
Stories on “Entertainment Tonight’s” site regarding this season’s “Dancing With the Stars” currently lack Ms. O’Dell’s name. She’s not even mentioned in the main article about the cast.
Ms. O’Dell’s absence also is notable in another story about who the cast is partnering up with this season.
“‘Dancing With the Stars’ has called 13 new celebrities to the dance floor and, for the first time, three real-life couples will battle in the ballroom—‘ET’ reveals the dance partner pairing,” reads the beginning of the story, but it then only lists 12 competitors. Guess who’s missing?
Typing “Nancy O’Dell” into the search box on etonline.com also turns up zero results.
An “Entertainment Tonight” representative had no comment.
For comparison’s sake, Warner Bros.’ “Extra” lists Ms. O’Dell in its story on the cast announcement, referring to her as a “TV personality.”
—Andrew Krukowski
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Comments (7)
I don't know why there's a problem. CBS/Paramount seems to have cordial relations with all the studios, even NBC/Universal. So, why pass O'Dell over?
Posted by Jeff | February 13, 2009 7:09 AM
What will ET do if O'Dell makes the finals, or even wins? Not mention that, too?
Posted by Tracy | February 13, 2009 12:40 PM
It just confirms what I've thought for years now: Mary Hart and Linda Bell Blue have absolutely zero class. I hope karma kicks their ass and that O'Dell wins the damned thing, just to stick in their craw...
Posted by Deanna | February 13, 2009 1:02 PM
I think everyone is forgetting that the insider have samantha harris on the show now... so as much coverage as Access gets... ET/ Insider will still get more.
Posted by Mathew | February 13, 2009 6:11 PM
ET should do a show on censorship ET style
Posted by Brenda | February 13, 2009 6:42 PM
I'm not sure which is more troubling: the further confirmation (as if any were needed) that "ET" has absolutely no shame ... or the fact that someone, somewhere considers Nancy O'Dell a star.
Posted by Mark Allen | February 14, 2009 12:12 AM
I find it amazing how "Nancy O'Dell" continues to be the name that shall not be mentioned. Stories on celebrities dropping this past week out were vague on who was injured. The website article made it appear that Holly and Melissa were being considered for just one replacement slot. It's too bad that Nancy had to drop out; I wanted to see how ET would have continued to ignore her. What would they have done if she was one of the top performers?
Posted by Brian | March 10, 2009 12:43 PM