Portia de Rossi not to be first same-sex contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars'

A representative for Ellen DeGeneres' wife Portia de Rossi has confirmed that she has turned down hit ABC show's Dancing with the Stars offer to become half of the series' first lesbian dancing couple in season 12.

"If Portia had agreed then it would have been a done deal," the New York Daily News quoted sources as telling popeater.com.

But with Rossi sitting this one out, the show's producers told the gossip website they aren't hustling to find another same-sex couple to join the show.

"She was the only star that could have pulled this off without completely offending the programme's conservative viewers," the source added.

ABC approached de Rossi after an Israeli version of the popular dancing show added a lesbian couple to their lineup.

But the show's producers reportedly don't want to "rush into creating a same-sex dancing couple just to get attention and publicity."