Reality TV competitions can be a cutthroat battle for viewer votes, but one Dancing With The Stars contestant came up with an odd attention-grabber.
Hughie Maughan, a contestant on Ireland's Dancing With The Stars, sparked an online frenzy after appearing on the show with a few extra coats of fake tan. Or wood varnish? Maybe he fell down a chimney, it's hard to tell.
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Reality star's epic fake tan fail
Dancing with the Stars Ireland contestant Hughie Maughan appears on the show with a fake tan that has made him a viral sensation.
The former Big Brother runner-up, who usually boasts a slightly ruddier Irish complexion, looked like Peter Sellers in The Party or Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder went seated alongside his tamer castmates.
Well @NickyByrne and the lads definitely weren't leaving @hughie_maughan off the hook with that tan tonight! #DWTSIrl pic.twitter.com/R8wpCjI8ED
— DWTS Ireland (@DWTSIRL) January 15, 2017
![Hughie Maughan, his tan, and his partner Emily Barker on Ireland's Dancing With The Stars.](/web/20170118100141im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/s/p/w/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtspja.png/1484639963353.jpg)
Online viewers, shocked by the sight, took to Twitter to mercilessly mock Maughan, creating memes comparing him to Ross from Friends ('The One With Ross' Tan') and wondering whether he'd be dancing the "tan-go".
"OMG your fake tan makes you look like you just came out of a burning house," one viewer wrote.
"There is no fake tan left in Ireland," added another.
#DancingWiththeStars @hughie_maughan OMG your fake tan tonight makes you look like you just came out of a burning house.
— Golden Girlios (@ChopBoardMarket) January 15, 2017
When you go to town on the Sally Hansen. #DancingWiththeStars pic.twitter.com/ciFMD2AS5d
— ⭐ amy o'connor ⭐ (@amyohconnor) January 15, 2017
Is Hughie dancing the #Tango tonight? @DWTSIRL pic.twitter.com/XlUaKhMQ3R
— Julian Lee (@Julian_Lee76) January 15, 2017
The handsome boys! Got to love them! ❤️@sportsdes @Desbishop @CroninDayl @hughie_maughan @GmailMahony @DWTSIRL @ShinawilTV pic.twitter.com/shdbdNBui1
— Lilia Kopylova (@LiliaKopylova) January 15, 2017
Others, noting the more uncomfortable elephant in the room, accused the TV personality of donning "blackface", sparking an emotional response from Maughan.
"What idiots are people to accuse me of racism, get a grip," he wrote on Twitter. "The tan turned out darker than planned, but at least it's funny and people spoke."
His partner Ryan Ruckledge, a fellow Big Brother alumni and UK TV personality, also stood up for his man's bronzing rights.
"Don't call my lad a silly bastard," he wrote. "If he wants to plaster his face in fake tan he can do so, he's not trying to impress u pal."
Please don't call my lad a silly bastard, if he wants to plaster his face in fake tan he can do so, he's not trying to impress u pal 👍🏼 https://t.co/mJ4nXQrozb
— Ryan Ruckledge (@ryruckledge) January 15, 2017
Powerful words to live by (or something).