EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Dancing With The Stars' Louis Van Amstel Talks About Being Openly Gay, Niecy Nash & Kate Gosselin
March 15 2010, Published 10:21 a.m. ET
RadarOnline.com caught up with Dancing With The Stars’ Louis Van Amstel on the red carpet of the Human Rights Campaign's star-studded gala in Los Angeles this past weekend, and he dished to us about his personal life, his prospects this season with partner Niecy Nash, and the show's latest high-profile celeb dancer, Kate Gosselin.
He said Nash "is so committed" and "really wants to redeem herself" after her childhood struggles with shyness and weight.
"She's here to show America that with three kids at 40, you can still live your dream," Van Amstel said, adding that their first dance with be the Cha-cha-cha.
Van Amstel, 36, said that those critical of Kate Gosselin training for the show ought to wait until she takes the stage. He said the show's glitz and glamour is only a small part of it, and that the real work and learning is captured in the training vignettes aired prior to the dances.
The HRC event was, in part, to bring awareness and support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.
Van Amstel, who is openly gay, told us he became more open and enlightened after talking about his sexuality with his mother when he was a teenager growing up in Amsterdam.
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He said the HRC’s cause was a noble one -- “to open people’s minds that we’re not bad people.”
The tenth season of Dancing With The Stars premieres with a special two hour episode on Monday, March 22 on ABC.
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