Eliminated ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ contestant shoots down sexual harassment rumor
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We don’t have to tell you that Digg serves up as much news as it does rumors and hoaxes.
An item about eliminated Sass x7 contestant Dominique Conti allegedly accusing ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ judge and noted choreographer Shane Sparks of sexual harassment raised a red flag over here in Show Tracker headquarters on Friday.
According to the report in question, Conti allegedly claimed that Sparks promised Sass x7 could continue on the series if the contestant ‘accommodated’ him. The unsourced entry penned by ‘ChChChChia’ claimed that Conti’s parents had allegedly hired a lawyer.
Reached at her parents’ home in New Jersey on Friday, Conti said she had never heard of the claim and the report is ‘absolutely not true.’
‘My only interaction with Shane was when we were onstage and he was sitting at the judging table or in passing backstage,’ Conti said. ‘We all took a picture with him backstage before we were eliminated.’
The report also quoted a line from this blog implying that we suggested there was more to Sass x7’s staying power than met the eye:
How Sass x7 failed to get the boot from “America’s Best Dance Crew 2’ and hang in through the first two episodes can only be explained as some kind of New Jersey juju. -- L.A. Times
For clarification, we were alluding to Sass x7’s positive impact on ratings and seeming viewer support in terms of votes. This is largely based on an interview we did with Lil Mama who suggested that other students found the college dance team appealing.
Conti said she was really proud that Sass x7 went out on such a high note, with a well-received performance of Britney Spears’ ‘Slave 4 U.’
‘I only wish we had one more week so we could show everybody how good we are,’ Conti said.
-- Sheigh Crabtree