Dancing with the Stars season 32 may be cursed – host Alfonso Ribeiro has revealed he has suffered from a concussion, less than a week before the premiere is set to air.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air star Alfonso shared details of the injury during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark on September 22, admitting he was at a baseball game when the ball struck him on the back of his head.
“I got concussed last week. I was standing off to the side and I’m putting someone’s number in the phone and boom, a ball to the back of my head. Right in the back,” he detailed.
The DWTS host – who also won the ABC series in 2014 – is dad to four children; four-year-old daughter Ava Sue, and sons eight-year-old Anders Reyn and nine-year-old Alfonso "AJ" Lincoln with wife Angela. The 51-year-old is also dad to 20-year-old daughter Sienna from a previous relationship.
He went on to share that the hit left him "down" on the ground, and out of action for three days.
"My wife seems to think it was just me saying I didn’t want to do nothing at the house," he joked. “It wasn’t that. It was a good hit."
Julianne Hough will join Alfonso as host for the new season – but although the premiere is set to take place on September 26 8/7c on ABC and live on Disney+, new reports have alleged that executives are looking into postponing the series amid the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes.
On September 21, Veep actor Matt stepped down from his appearance on the show, acknowledging that he was "excited to join the show and did so under the impression that it was not a WGA show and fell under a different agreement".
"This morning when I was informed by my union, the WGA, that it is considered struck work I walked out of my rehearsal. I have been and will always stand with my union members of the WGA, SAG and DGA. Beyond our union artists, I am sensitive to the many people impacted by the strike and I hope for a speedy and fair resolution, and to one day work again with all the wonderful people I met at ‘DWTS’ who tolerated my dancing," he said.
DWTS’ celebrity cast, particularly actors and SAG-AFTRA members Alyson Hannigan and Mira Sorvino have all also come under pressure from striking members, with picket signs outside rehearsal studios berating them for their participation.
DWTS is covered under the SAG-AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting, which allows it to air during the strike. It is separate from the film and TV collective bargaining agreement which is currently being negotiated between SAG and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
However the series employs a guild writer for the show, to help Julianne and Alfonso with their to-camera scripts. The writer will not be on set, but any writing that may be completed by other staff members would be considered scabbing.