In Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars, the show cast its first same-sex couple with Jenna Johnson and JoJo Siwa. In Season 31, Gleb Savchenko competed with RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Shangela, which brought another show first.
Some fans hoped the show would take another big step by having a male pro and a male celebrity compete together in Season 34. According to Burtt, however, that seems unlikely to happen yet.
In the comment section of Burtt’s August 18 TikTok post, a fan asked if there was any chance an all-male pair would be a part of Season 34. Burtt responded, “Unfortunately, I don’t think so.”
She explained, “If you go back to my May 29 video one of the executive producers talked about the topic. It sounds like they are open to it, but that it is not happening anytime soon.”
In an additional comment, Burtt shared, “I think Derek & Mark tried to move the needle with producers to making it happen.”
Dancing with the Stars fans who have been rallying to see this type of pairing happen shared their disappointment.
The fan who asked the question initially responded, “I do think they are missing a huge opportunity to show how progressive the show can be, especially with Ezra as a pro and even showcasing that beautiful tango from Derek and Mark last year. Hope they can push for this soon!”
In the Dancing with the Stars subreddit, one fan noted that the versions of the show done in both Italy and Poland have already featured a male-male partnership.
Several fans admitted with Burtt’s recent revelation that beloved pro Mark Ballas is supposed to be competing again in Season 34, they thought he might be returning to lead a male-male partnership.
Since that seemingly is not the case, fans are wondering if, instead, a big name has been cast and requested Ballas.
“Now would be the perfect time to do it,” one fan bemoaned of not getting a male same-sex partnership in Season 34.
Another wrote, “I’d enjoy a very masculine/masculine energy pairing like Derek and Mark. It would be tricky so maybe like someone with Jordan Fisher talent or experience.”
The network will officially announce the full cast of celebrities and pros on September 3 via Good Morning America, according to Us Weekly. Season 34 premieres on Tuesday, September 16.