Actress Taryn Manning made a surprising claim earlier this week, alleging that Dancing With the Stars approached her ‘many times’ but she turned them down because she thought being on the show would make her, ‘a has-been.’
The 41-year-old Hustle and Flow star was shooting promo footage for a new robot called Gita, on Wednesday, revealing, ‘I have this weird phobia that [competing on the show] means you’re a has-been, and I never want to believe that’s the case.
She also claimed she’s ‘definitely a good dancer,’ but a rep for the ABC reality competition series told Page Six they never approached her, though her reps once tried to pitch her at one point.
Debunked: Actress Taryn Manning made a surprising claim earlier this week, alleging that Dancing With the Stars approached her ‘many times’ but she turned them down because she thought being on the show would make her, ‘a has-been’
‘Taryn claims she’s been asked to join the cast ‘many times,’ however, we have never asked Taryn to be part of the show,” a rep for the series said.
‘Her representation attempted to pitch her to us a while back and we kindly passed. So her claim that she was asked to join ‘DWTS’ once, never mind many times, is completely false.”
The rep added, ‘Her thoughts that the contestants consist of “has-beens” seems to be her own projection onto talent that we have asked to cast.’
Denied: ‘Taryn claims she’s been asked to join the cast ‘many times,’ however, we have never asked Taryn to be part of the show,” a rep for the series said
Manning hasn’t commented publicly on her statement, or on the rep from Dancing With the Stars’ response quite yet.
The current cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 29 includes Nelly, Anne Heche, Jeannie Mai, Jesse Metcalfe, Skai Jackson, AJ McLean and Carole Baskin from the Netflix sensation Tiger King.
The show has a much different look this year, with Tyra Banks taking over as the new host, and Derek Hough returning as a judge.
New judge: The show has a much different look this year, with Tyra Banks taking over as the new host, and Derek Hough returning as a judge
Manning made headlines in August when she signed on to portray the title character in a new film entitled Karen, according to The Wrap.
The film follows Manning’s character Karen White, a Southern white woman who terrorizes her black neighbors.
While no other casts members have been announced, the film will be directed by Coke Daniels, with the film described as ‘social commentary with an important message.’
Title character: Manning made headlines in August when she signed on to portray the title character in a new film entitled Karen, according to The Wrap
Manning has several projects in various stages of development, including Crabs in a Bucket alongside Jeremy Piven.
She also has The Gateway with Frank Grillo and Olivia Munn, Bobcat Moreti with Vivica A. Fox and The Latin From Manhattan with Jesse Metcalfe in the works.
She is also attached to star in Sanctioning Evil, 777 and Above the Line, which are all still in pre-production.
Several projects: Manning has several projects in various stages of development, including Crabs in a Bucket alongside Jeremy Piven
Coming soon: She also has The Gateway with Frank Grillo and Olivia Munn, Bobcat Moreti with Vivica A. Fox and The Latin From Manhattan with Jesse Metcalfe in the works