Getting her kicks: Heather Mills and partner on Dancing With the Stars. Photograph: Sky News/PA Wire
As if we needed any more sexist vitriol directed at women in the public eye, now it's the turn of Beatles fans in the US to get something off their chests. Again. Oh yes, it's time to have another pop at that familiar target the press and public just loves to hate: Heather Mills. Her debut on American TV show Dancing With the Stars could not pass without outraged viewers venting their anger at the woman who dared to marry, and then separate from, their musical hero Paul McCartney and still dares to maintain a public profile without being a real star.
Trawling the broadcaster ABC's message boards is a somewhat depressing experience. okrobpr seems to sum up the mood with the words: "Why is she on this show? I thought this was Dancing With the Stars not Dancing With People that Marry Stars and you Kind of Know their Name." While gcsme pitches in with a dig at Mills' disability being used as a publicity stunt: "Sorry about your physical challenges but to use them as a stepping stone over other people is a crime. Take Sir Paul's money and go away. We do not want to see you."
I'm no dance expert, but Mills and her partner Jonathan Roberts look like they did alright to me. The live audience were certainly impressed, many of them giving her a standing ovation, and the judges were quite balanced in their appraisal. But that's not the point, is it? Even positive feedback about her performance - of which there is a fair amount both on the ABC message boards and from publications like People.com - is met with suspicion, for Mills can seemingly do no right. Back on the ABC message boards, SusanLasVegas writes: "I think these positive comments on Heather are a plant from the producers or Heather's contacts, publicity agents, etc. No one likes her and regardless of her handicap, I hope she gets kicked off."
So there you go. Feel better now?
