Know 's The Susan Boyle What’s Next?

TV Star Susan Boyle

SUSAN BOYLE doesn’t know me, but I host “Dancing With the Stars, Strictly Come Dancing. And I’m worried about her. After an incredible performance on “Britain’s Got Talent.So I just want to offer her some friendly advice.

The kind of love she’s getting isn’t a tenth as genuine as her pussycat’s purr. We saw the eye-rolling in the audience moments before she performed. We heard the derisive wolf whistle. And then she sang, and the humbled audience sprang to their feet in sudden adoration.

On “Dancing with the Stars,” I’ve seen several physically stunning actresses and models who’ve had the opposite experience. Just before their first dance steps, the audience basked in their beauty. Then they began nervously clomping across the dance floor like lame horses and were quickly shown the door.

Ms. Boyle’s experience seems to suggest that people are willing to overcome their prejudices and see the world anew. But those same people can turn back into snarky snobs just as easily. Some already have. Post goose-bumped pundits are speculating about a deliberate charade to increase ratings.

The truth is, more often than not we look only for what we expect to see. I’ve been guilty of this too. Once when I was hosting a daily talk show in Boston, I greeted the studio audience before the broadcast and put them through a training exercise in applause. One woman didn’t seem to be buying it. She wasn’t applauding at all.