Why Sean Spicer's casting on Dancing with the Stars can't be 'politics-free'

Every week, the q screen panel convenes to look at the biggest stories happening in the worlds of film and television.

This week, guest host Ali Hassan is joined by entertainment journalist Tina Hassannia and lead programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival, Kiva Reardon, to talk about the recent controversy surrounding Dancing with the Stars. They discuss the impact of casting former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and whether or not reality TV shows have a responsibility to their audience.

Spicer responded to the backlash, saying: "I hope it will be a politics-free zone. My hope is that at the end of the season, [host] Tom Bergeron looks back on this and realizes what a great example it was of being able to bring people of really diverse backgrounds together." Our screen panel tells us why it's not possible to keep Spicer​​​​​​'s casting non-political. 

Click 'Listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.

— Produced by ​Vanessa Nigro