Dance show provokes TV viewer into shotgun rage
A frustrated American TV viewer started an armed siege after blasting his television with a shotgun, provoked by Sarah Palin’s daughter dancing on a reality show.
Steven Cowan, 67, from Vermont, Wisconsin, then pointed the gun at his wife, who escaped and called police.
A Swat surrounded the couple’s farmhouse, and officers were able to talk Cowan out after an all-night stand-off.
Cowan had been drinking before he sat down to watch “Dancing with the Stars” Monday night and suffers from bipolar disorder, his wife Janice Cowan said.
He was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, and could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Mrs Cowan told police her husband came home around 6.30pm on Monday after drinking at a bar.
She said her husband drank a bottle of beer during dinner and they settled down to watch “Dancing with the Stars.”
When Bristol Palin, the 20-year-old daughter of former vice presidential candidate-turned-Republican celebrity Sarah Palin, began her routine, Cowan jumped up and began swearing, saying something like “The (expletive) politics.”
His wife said he was upset that a political figure’s daughter was dancing on TV even though he felt she didn’t have talent.
Her husband left the living room and reappeared 20 minutes later with his shotgun, “raging” with his face bright red, and blasted the TV.
“He scared the bejebees out of me,” she told police.
She said her husband pointed the gun at her and told her to go get his pistols. She said he threatened to kill himself if she returned with anyone else.
The internet has been full of speculation on how Bristol Palin, who has consistently landed at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, has been able to remain on the TV show.
Some have suggested that voters – particularly supporters of her mother – have been voting in blocs and manipulating the system.
Both Palins have denied any organised vote-getting tactics.
Bristol Palin says voters support her despite lacklustre performances because she started the show with no dancing experience.
