Selma Blair announces early exit from Dancing With the Stars due to health concerns
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Selma Blair had the best of intentions... but she has to bow out of Dancing With the Stars. On Monday night the actress announced that she will be making an early exit from the Disney+ reality series due to health concerns related to her multiple sclerosis.
"I had these MRIs and the results came back and it just all adds up to I can't go on with the competition," she told her partner Sasha Farber in their rehearsal package. "With a chronic illness, you do need special considerations. My body is taking a hit. It's way too much for my bones. There's just way too much bone trauma and inflammation... that I do not want."
Blair elaborated on her decision in the post-show press room, explaining that she had an MRI on her knee last Thursday, which prompted her doctor to request that she rehearse in a pool or in a way that was not weight bearing. "It wasn't great, but nothing horrible," she said of the scan. "But I realized, 'I'm not prepared for horrible.' Leaving was horrible enough."
Blair finished up her time on the show with one final "gentle" waltz with Farber, set to "What the World Needs Now."
"Sometimes you make hard decisions, but I really want to have a last beautiful dance with you and bow out," she told Farber of her decision to give a final performance. "This is a dance for everyone who had tried and hoped they could do more, but also the power in realizing when it's time to walk away."
Blair was one of the biggest names in season 31 of the competition, and she proved to be an early favorite with her inspirational story and stunning dance moves alongside Farber. She admitted to audiences that she'd basically been on bed rest for the last ten years until she decided to take a risk on the show. "There are consequences to any chance you take," she told co-host Alfonso Ribeiro after her final dance. "But I don't want there to be anything serious and say, 'Oh I just wasn't careful,' because I'm afraid I won't get back is the truth."
"It's been a hard year and getting to dance with her, she just turned everything the way that it needs to be," her dancer partner, Farber, said. "She's inspried me again, she's inspired so many people out there. She is a wonderful mother, an iconic actress, and a beautiful dancer now."
Eric McCandless/ABC Selma Blair dances with partner Sasha Farber.
Each week Blair has moved the judges (and audiences at home) with her elegance and ability to power through the challenges presented by her MS diagnosis. Her final dance was no exception, moving the entire ballroom to tears, including all of her fellow contestants. In the post-show press conference, she revealed that she would've loved to try a contemporary dance of the styles she had yet to perform, but she also was wary of how taxing that could be on her body. "The reality is sometimes when you come into things with a chronic illness or a history of a health thing," she added. "Sometimes you just really have to take care of yourself and it's not all possible."
Judge Len Goodman sent her off, saying, "You have climbed mountains," while Derek Hough described her as a "beacon of light."
"You brought nothing but joy to everyone," added Hough. "Thank you for the gift of sharing this journey with this all."
"Together you have inspired us all," Carrie Ann Inaba said, rounding out just the judges remarks.
"To see the audience react to each and every one of us and our efforts, it's so heartening," Blair concluded, noting how the competition showed her how she loves "to be around people who are trying their hardest" and shared a special sentiment for her dance partner.
"Sasha, I could not have found anyone that could've allowed me to move and accept myself and keep supporting myself," she said. "But to have someone like you to show the world there are partners you can find — there are partners if you let them know you need someone to hold your flailing hand."
Eric McCandless/ABC The 'Dancing with the Stars' cast surrounded Blair after she announced she was leaving the show early.
Because of Blair's decision to leave the show, no other dancers were eliminated from the dancers on Monday night.
Talking to reporters, Blair pledged to continue to find ways to dance, acknowledging the ways in which it helped her physically and with her motor skills in spite of the toll it took on her bones. "I had gains here physically that I couldn't get in physical therapy or through zoom therapy with my body and balance," she said. "This was a real immersion therapy. On one side, I had a bone overload, but on the other side, I had total gains — much less drop foot and I can calm down a lot better now when confronted with a new task."
She may not have to wait long to re-immerse herself in that world. While speaking to reports, Hough pledged to bring Blair back to the season finale and choreograph a number for the two of them.
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