'Dancing' nixes chimp segment
PETA protest causes ABC series to cancel bit
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"Dancing" displayed a highly evolved touch Tuesday, nixing the planned use of a chimpanzee as a mock guest judge, just hours after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested.
The events began after "Dancing" host Tom Bergeron mentioned Monday night that there would be a chimp on the show's Tuesday airing.
"That prompted PETA to contact executive producer Conrad Green first thing (Tuesday) morning with a plea that the chimp segment be canceled," PETA senior veep Dan Mathews said.
Not wanting to be accused of monkeying around, even for the sake of bad puns such as that one, Green notified PETA on Tuesday afternoon that it was editing the chimp out of that night's segment.
"I do appreciate your point that showing a chimpanzee on our show may indirectly lead to other chimpanzees being ill-treated in the future," Green wrote in an e-mail.
A spokesperson for "Dancing" producer BBC Worldwide Prods. said Wednesday that "Conrad constantly makes last-minute editorial decisions (and) changes, and we are pleased with the result of the Oct. 6 show."
Though ABC promoted the chimp's appearance Monday, no mention of it was made Tuesday. The segment that would have featured the chimp included, among others, a toddler, who presumably was returned safely to its habitat after filming.
