Dancing With The Stars viewers slam Ben Cousins’ appearance on season premiere: ‘How many second chances does he get?
Ben Cousins is making a comeback with his reality TV appearance as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.
The former AFL player made his debut on the show on Sunday night, but viewers had mixed feelings about seeing the fallen star back on TV.
Several people shared their thoughts about X, but some felt uncomfortable with the fact that Ben, 46, is getting another chance given his troubled past.
“Oh great, now it’s time for their forced Ben Cousins redemption,” someone complained on the social media platform.
“How many second chances does Ben Cousins get? He must know a lot of people,” said another.
Someone else chimed in: “It doesn’t feel right to see Ben Cousins on stage.”
‘I just want to say that I feel very uncomfortable with Ben and Ant. [Middleton] in this cast. I’m not here for their redemption arc,’ wrote another.
“Ben Cousins looks like he’s about to take a shit at any moment,” someone else joked.
Ben Cousins is making a career comeback with his appearance on reality TV as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. Pictured with dance partner Siobhan Power
Others were happy to see the former footballer try, with one person writing: ‘At least Ben took some decent steps. Cute.’
“Loved the Foxtrot. Well done Ben and Siobhan,” wrote another person tuning in at home.
Ben has been trying to rebuild his life in recent years after a fall.
In 2005 he won the Brownlow Medal and from 2001 to 2005 he captained the West Coast Eagles, winning the club’s best and fairest award four times during those seasons.
He played 238 games and scored 205 goals for the West Coast Eagles, winning the 2006 championship with the club.
His dramatic fall from grace has been well documented since 2007, when he publicly battled drug addiction and tried to come to terms with his failed relationship with Maylea Tinecheff.
He was later dismissed and given a one-year suspension from the AFL for repeated offences.
Several people shared their thoughts about X, with some feeling uncomfortable about Ben, 46, being given another chance given his troubled past.
In 2021, Susan Backshell, who has mentored Cousins since his last prison sentence, told Daily Mail Australia that his sole focus is on his children.
When Cousins found himself in a cold, cramped cell for the sixth time in 13 years in 2020, he decided after seven months behind bars that enough was enough.
He told her he wanted to make amends and get his life in order, to which Backshell gave him an ultimatum: “Give it all you’ve got, or forget it all.”
Since Cousins was released in December 2020, Backshell said he has never wavered in his commitment to sobriety and his service to the community.
This comes after Ben revealed that filming Dancing With The Stars has reignited his passion for sport.
Others were happy to see the former footballer give it a go, with one person posting: ‘At least Ben’s made some decent strides. Cute’
The star says he missed the thrill of competition and couldn’t get enough of it.
“I love the lifestyle of a professional athlete and I’ve missed it,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I really thought I would get through the experience for six to eight, or ten weeks and just hang in there until the end of the days. But it was the exact opposite.”
Ben went on to say that he didn’t want the experience to end.
“I remember it was a week before the show ended and I started getting sad. I didn’t want to go home,” he said.
‘When I think back, it still shocks me that it could have happened. I fell in love with it, it was unbelievable.’