Surprised, N8?
Reality Intrudes on ABCs Big Reality Hit
By EDWARD WYATT
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 Dancing With the Stars, the ABC hit that is the highest-rated reality show on television this fall, will go on without one of the six final couples this week. Sara Evans, a country music star, has dropped out after filing for divorce from her husband of 13 years.
Ms. Evans, named female vocalist of the year by the Academy of Country Music earlier this year, filed for divorce in state court in Tennessee on Thursday from her husband, Craig L. Schelske, a Republican fund-raiser.
Ms. Evans, 35, informed the shows producers and ABC executives last week that she would drop out of the competition, Hope Hartman, an ABC spokeswoman, said Monday. Ms. Hartman said the network would not otherwise comment on the withdrawals effect on the show until after this weeks installments, which will be broadcast Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Tennessean newspaper quoted Ms. Evanss lawyer, John Hollins Jr., on Saturday as saying that the singer would tape an interview with ABC about her withdrawal, to be broadcast during Tuesdays show. Mr. Hollins did not respond to a telephone message yesterday.
In unusually explicit court papers, Ms. Evans accused her husband of adultery with the couples former nanny, excessive drinking, soliciting sex via an Internet site and maintaining a library of pornography that included pictures of him having sex with other women.
Mr. Schelske, 43, could not be reached for comment. In a statement issued through a spokesman, he said: I adamantly deny the allegations that are being made. As distressing as it is to have to communicate about this matter publicly, Sara has unfortunately become a dramatically different person over the last year, and it is something we have struggled to deal with. Sadly, it appears we have failed.
According to court filings from Williamson County, Tenn., a state judge on Thursday approved a temporary restraining order and custody order based on the allegations in Ms. Evanss divorce request.
The couple and their three children, who live near Nashville, had been residing in Beverly Hills, Calif., while Ms. Evans was participating in Dancing With the Stars, a ballroom-dance competition that is broadcast live Tuesday nights at 8 Eastern time on ABC. A results show, which combines viewer voting with the recommendations of a panel of professional dance judges, is shown live on Wednesdays, following the two-night format popularized by American Idol, last years top-rated television show.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Dancing With the Stars was the fourth-highest-rated show and the top-rated reality show in the first three weeks of the fall television season, drawing an average of 18.2 million viewers each week and trailing only Greys Anatomy, CSI and Desperate Housewives. The results show ranked seventh over all, with 16.1 million viewers.
In the 2005-6 television season, Dancing With the Stars ranked seventh over all, drawing an average of 18.5 million viewers each week. American Idol drew an average of 31 million viewers each week.
Although she was only one of the 11 celebrity contestants who began the season, each paired with a professional ballroom dancer for training and competition, Ms. Evans attracted more than the usual amount of attention. Tom DeLay, the former United States Congressman and Republican leader from Texas, recently sent out a mass e-mail message asking supporters to watch the show and vote for Ms. Evans, whom he called a good friend of mine, country music singer and G.O.P. supporter.
Saying that Ms. Evans represents good American values in the media and noting that one of her opponents in the competition was ultra-liberal talk show host Jerry Springer, Mr. DeLay added: We need to send a message to Hollywood and the media that smut has no place on television by supporting good people like Sara Evans.
Ms. Evanss divorce filing says Mr. Schelske is unemployed, but he is listed online as the chairman of CraigPAC, a political action committee dedicated to electing Republicans in state and national races, whose name stands for Conservative Reform Agenda in Government. The committees Web site also says that Mr. Schelske is president of Gingerdog Inc., which promotes Ms. Evanss singing career.
Mr. Schelske, who ran unsuccessfully in 2002 for the Republican nomination for the Fifth Congressional District in Oregon, is also listed online as the executive director of American Destiny, a nonprofit organization that promotes the role of religion in the founding of the United States.
Reality Intrudes on ABCs Big Reality Hit
By EDWARD WYATT
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 Dancing With the Stars, the ABC hit that is the highest-rated reality show on television this fall, will go on without one of the six final couples this week. Sara Evans, a country music star, has dropped out after filing for divorce from her husband of 13 years.
Ms. Evans, named female vocalist of the year by the Academy of Country Music earlier this year, filed for divorce in state court in Tennessee on Thursday from her husband, Craig L. Schelske, a Republican fund-raiser.
Ms. Evans, 35, informed the shows producers and ABC executives last week that she would drop out of the competition, Hope Hartman, an ABC spokeswoman, said Monday. Ms. Hartman said the network would not otherwise comment on the withdrawals effect on the show until after this weeks installments, which will be broadcast Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Tennessean newspaper quoted Ms. Evanss lawyer, John Hollins Jr., on Saturday as saying that the singer would tape an interview with ABC about her withdrawal, to be broadcast during Tuesdays show. Mr. Hollins did not respond to a telephone message yesterday.
In unusually explicit court papers, Ms. Evans accused her husband of adultery with the couples former nanny, excessive drinking, soliciting sex via an Internet site and maintaining a library of pornography that included pictures of him having sex with other women.
Mr. Schelske, 43, could not be reached for comment. In a statement issued through a spokesman, he said: I adamantly deny the allegations that are being made. As distressing as it is to have to communicate about this matter publicly, Sara has unfortunately become a dramatically different person over the last year, and it is something we have struggled to deal with. Sadly, it appears we have failed.
According to court filings from Williamson County, Tenn., a state judge on Thursday approved a temporary restraining order and custody order based on the allegations in Ms. Evanss divorce request.
The couple and their three children, who live near Nashville, had been residing in Beverly Hills, Calif., while Ms. Evans was participating in Dancing With the Stars, a ballroom-dance competition that is broadcast live Tuesday nights at 8 Eastern time on ABC. A results show, which combines viewer voting with the recommendations of a panel of professional dance judges, is shown live on Wednesdays, following the two-night format popularized by American Idol, last years top-rated television show.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Dancing With the Stars was the fourth-highest-rated show and the top-rated reality show in the first three weeks of the fall television season, drawing an average of 18.2 million viewers each week and trailing only Greys Anatomy, CSI and Desperate Housewives. The results show ranked seventh over all, with 16.1 million viewers.
In the 2005-6 television season, Dancing With the Stars ranked seventh over all, drawing an average of 18.5 million viewers each week. American Idol drew an average of 31 million viewers each week.
Although she was only one of the 11 celebrity contestants who began the season, each paired with a professional ballroom dancer for training and competition, Ms. Evans attracted more than the usual amount of attention. Tom DeLay, the former United States Congressman and Republican leader from Texas, recently sent out a mass e-mail message asking supporters to watch the show and vote for Ms. Evans, whom he called a good friend of mine, country music singer and G.O.P. supporter.
Saying that Ms. Evans represents good American values in the media and noting that one of her opponents in the competition was ultra-liberal talk show host Jerry Springer, Mr. DeLay added: We need to send a message to Hollywood and the media that smut has no place on television by supporting good people like Sara Evans.
Ms. Evanss divorce filing says Mr. Schelske is unemployed, but he is listed online as the chairman of CraigPAC, a political action committee dedicated to electing Republicans in state and national races, whose name stands for Conservative Reform Agenda in Government. The committees Web site also says that Mr. Schelske is president of Gingerdog Inc., which promotes Ms. Evanss singing career.
Mr. Schelske, who ran unsuccessfully in 2002 for the Republican nomination for the Fifth Congressional District in Oregon, is also listed online as the executive director of American Destiny, a nonprofit organization that promotes the role of religion in the founding of the United States.
