Tonya Harding Rehearses For 'DWTS' Premiere Amid Diva Rumors
Apr. 28 2018, Updated 9:01 p.m. ET
Tonya Harding looks ready for a ballroom blitz! The controversial ice skater was spotted outside a Hollywood studio as she continues Dancing with the Stars rehearsals before Monday's season premiere on ABC. Harding, known for her bizarre alleged involvement in the kneecap attack on skating arrival Nancy Kerrigan in 1994, and the subject of the recent movie I, Tonya, smiled and waved at onlookers. But as RadarOnline.com has exclusively reported, a source says Harding has been a handful in rehearsal, showing a diva attitude. Will she put her past behind her and be embraced by DWTS fans—or be booed on the dance floor? Scroll down RadarOnline.com's gallery for more!
Harding, 47, is partnered with pro dancer Sasha Farber in the new "all athletes" edition of DWTS, debuting this Monday, April 30.
The gritty ice skater was previously caught smoking outside of her dance practice studio and a RadarOnline.com insider has said she's a diva!
"Tonya is a nightmare for production because she is one of the most demanding and difficult people in the industry to work with," the source recently told RadarOnline.com about her time so far getting ready for DWTS.
Harding demanded a lot of money to do DWTS following the success of her biopic I,Tonya, in which Margot Robbie played the scandal-plagued skater, according to the source.
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In her ABC special Truth and Lies: The Tonya Harding Story, which aired in Jan. 2018, Harding insisted she never agreed on her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly's devious plan to have Kerrigan's knee clubbed. But she confessed, "I did, however, overhear them talking about stuff, where, 'Well, maybe we should take somebody out so we can make sure she gets on the team.' And I remember telling them, I go, 'What the hell are you talking about? I can skate.'"
On Jan. 6, 1994, an unidentified assailant hit Harding's ice skating competitor Kerrigan, now 48, in the right knee. It was later determined that Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and his friend, Shawn Eckardt, paid the man to hurt Kerrigan.
Harding eventually pleaded guilty to conspire to hinder prosecution, was fined $160,000 and forced to do 500 hours of community service, but she has always denied that she had anything to do with the disturbing incident.
Will DWTS fans be rooting for or against Harding? Graceful Kerrigan, 48, did well on the reality show in season 24 but was also branded a diva, as RadarOnline.com reported. Kerrigan's enraged mom Brenda wasn't happy that Hollywood made Harding look sympathetic in I, Tonya. "I think it's quite disgusting that they put Tonya up like she's some sort of hero when, in my opinion, she committed a crime!" said Brenda.
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