Dancing with the Stars 24: Sharna Burgess on Bonner Bolton ‘hand’ drama

Following Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars 24 premiere, there was a bit of unexpected drama that came from an unusual source: Bonner Bolton’s hand. At one point while Nick Viall was being interviewed by Erin Andrews, eagle-eyed viewers noticed the bullrider appear to reach around to grab his partner Sharna Burgess. However, it was where his hand ended up (let’s just say it was an inappropriate region) that stirred some controversy. Sharna quickly moved his hand away, but the social-media damage was done almost immediate.

In the hours that have followed the show, Bonner’s faced criticism aplenty for being pervy, but Burgess herself insists that this is all being blown far out of proportion. In a series of posts on Twitter after being made about the controversy, she made it clear that “anyone who has the ridiculous idea that it was intentional is straight up stupid. As in lacking [the] intelligence to realize it was innocent.” Her explanation is merely that this was an accident that happened, and that the quick camera edits made it seem far more sinister and significant than it actually was. From her viewpoint, Bonner’s hand simply fell in the wrong place and that was it.

Do we think that this will damage Bonner’s chances of going far in any way? Not really. After all, remember that a good 75% of the show’s viewers at least are not following it religiously on social media — they’re just watching at home with their family, and they may not have even noticed the moment. Also, Bonner is going to be very popular in middle America and with a certain base that has allowed many other people to make it further in their season than you would expect that they would. Bonner had a solid, if unspectacular, debut on the show. We’ll see precisely what that turns into when he’s got more training and he can get away from a part of his personality that is so indicative of who he is.

If you missed it, you can head over to the link here in the event you want to read our full review for Monday’s Dancing with the Stars premiere now!

What do you think: Is this whole issue being blown out of proportion, and do you think that it’s going to have any adverse reaction at all when it comes to Bonner being on the season in the long-term? Share now in the comments. (Photo: ABC.)