Leah Remini at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards

Leah Remini Shares Excitement About Joining 'SYTYCD': 'I Love Dancing, I Love Dancers'

Home / Stars / Leah Remini Shares Excitement About Joining 'SYTYCD': 'I Love Dancing, I Love Dancers'

By Fiyin Olowokandi on June 16, 2022 at 3:00 AM PDT

Leah Remini is moving up in the career world! 

The "Kevin Can Wait" star joins the judges' panel for the 17th season of the dance competition series "So You Think You Can Dance."

Remini's addition to the show comes after "Glee" alum Matthew Morrison quit the judges' table after failing to follow the program's rules.

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Leah Remini: "People Don't Know That I Dance Every Day"

Leah Remini at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards
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According to ET, "The King of Queens" star was very excited to be joining JoJo Siwa and Stephen "tWitch" Boss for the show's 300th episode, set to air this week. During an interview that Remini had with the media outlet, she said:

"I love dancing, I love dancers, I love dance shows, I love artists. I got a dance studio. People don't know that I dance every day, but that doesn't matter." 

While she recognized that she is not "a dancer," she said she was a fan of the show who loved dance.

The actress added that although she lacked a formal dance background like the other judges, she was excited about this opportunity to see the competitors grow and evolve over the competition's duration. 

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One can only imagine the level of good vibes Remini is bringing as the host of "SYTYCD" Cat Deeley recently gushed about Remini's addition. Looking beyond the actress' dance skills, Deeley said:

"She's brilliant, like straight away. It's one of those things where we need somebody who is like everybody who sits on the couch at home." 

Even Remini's co-judges had nothing but nice things to say as they called the actress "hilarious," "amazing," and "full of good vibes."

The "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" author broke the news of her landing the judging gig on Instagram

Along with a picture that showed a "reserved parking" sign on an orange cone, the 51-year-old expressed her joy at getting on the competition show.

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She added that she looked forward to guiding the "incredibly talented" contestants as the show's fan and a "great admirer of dancers."

The post quickly caught people's attention, and they gave it almost 20k likes. As for the comments, one person said Remini looked good in everything.

Another person revealed that they would only be watching the show because of the actress— a thought many other fans echoed.

Many others congratulated and wished her well in her new project. A few others wanted to know how long she would be holding down the forte following Matthew Morrison's exit.

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Matthew Morrison Exits SYTYCD Stage After One Month As Judge

The Blast reported earlier this month that the Broadway star would be vacating his judge's seat on the dance competition series.

The "Hairspray" star announced his departure in a statement that came soon after the show's 17th season began.

In his statement, the 43-year-old expressed remorse for his actions— although he refused to go into detail about said "actions."

He also did not explain what production rules he flouted but noted that being a judge on the show for a month was an "incredible honor."

Matthew Morrison at Brooks Brothers Annual Holiday Celebration To Benefit St. Jude
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Morrison finished his statement by admitting that flouting the rules stopped him from "being able to judge the competition fairly. I cannot apologize enough to all involved."

The "The Light in the Piazza" performer soon spoke about his dismissal again after a source alleged he was fired for his "inappropriate relationship with a female contestant." 

The insider added that the relationship included "flirty direct messages on social media" sent from Morrison to the competitive dancer. 

Unfortunately for the actor, the dancer was not feeling him, so she reported it to the producers, who involved their boss in the debacle. Morrison was allegedly fired after the producers finished their investigation.

To debunk the allegations, the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" actor dropped a video on his Instagram account.

In the video, the father-of-two said it was unfortunate that he had to speak for him and his family "against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously."

The Screen Actors Guild award winner continued by claiming that he had nothing to hide, so he would read out the only message he ever sent to the dancer in question.

The alleged text saw Morrison introducing himself and asking if he could get her number so they could have a conversation.

Once he finished reading "The Greatest Dancer" captain claimed he sent the text because he was trying to help her land a gig as a choreographer on the show."

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