ABC/Eric McCandlessShark Tank superfan Selena Gomez recently got to live her dream when her BFFs arranged for her to visit the set of the ABC reality show as a surprise birthday gift.
Turns out, she did more than just watch the taping: She secretly had a hand in which pitches got the backing of the show’s “Sharks.”
“O.K., I’m gonna tell you little secret,” Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban confides to ABC Audio. “So, there’s not really an audience per se in Shark Tank but I sit on the last seat on the right, where we let our guests sit.”
“Well, that’s where Selena was sitting,” he continues. “And I said, ‘O.K., Selena, if you like a deal, you give me the thumbs-up. If you don’t like a deal, you give me the thumbs down. And if you like it, I will go do it.’”
He adds, “I’m not going tell you which deals. But it was fun.”
Cuban and fellow investor Robert Herjavec both agree Selena would make a great Guest Shark on a future season. They both marveled at the fact that she stayed on set the whole day.
“We get a lot of guest Sharks — they show up for a half hour or an hour and then they leave,” Herjavec says. “She came on, lots of excitement…three hours later, she’s still there.”
Cuban adds, “Her friends, their eyes are rolling over, but Selena’s, like, leaning forward and all excited…so it was a lot of fun!”
Shark Tank debuted its 11th season on Sunday.
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