Danielle Fishel (36:14)
How did this cast luck out so much? That not only do we all love each other so much and support each other so much, but we love all of our families too. Like what? It's you. It's. It's not. This is not easy to have this many people spend this much time together during a competition show and for everyone to just be so supportive and loving to one another and it's very genuine. Speaking of things that are very genuine. Connor, Whitney's husband. Immediately after Whitney had been Whitney and Mark had been eliminated, Connor turned like he. He watched Whitney walk off stage with Mark. And I gave him a hug and I. I told him the same thing I told Whitney, which is she has already won. Being in the finale is not going to change the fact that Whitney Levitt is going to be a massive star. It just. She already is. And I think the opportunities for her to be a performer are going to. If they have not already started, they are just going to continue and she is going to have her pick of anything she wants to do in the entertainment industry. And one more week. Making it to the finale wouldn't have made it more wouldn't. It wouldn't have changed it. She's already won. And he said that he was really proud of her. And I said I was proud of her, too. And immediately after I was done talking to him, he turned to Jordan's family and just with so much enthusiasm and, like, genuine support, said, I am so excited and I'm so proud of Jordan. Congratulations to you and your family. It was so nice because no one would have judged him for just kind of being in his own head and not saying anything or. Or even just saying like, hey, congratulations and being down. And he just didn't. He is. Connor is the hype man in the audience for everybody's family and especially for Whitney. His love and support for her is unmatched. I also really want to specially acknowledge Mark. Everyone knows that Mark is one of the best dancers and the best choreographers the dance world has ever seen. Definitely one of the best dancers and choreographers Dancing with the Stars has ever seen. He started on Dancing with the stars in season five and has been there for 15 years. He has been around for a lot. And I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say that this season has been the most difficult season to manage. Opinions and online criticism and hate and, you know, death threats, the things people will say online about his family and just truly insane. And through it all, I think I'm the most amazed by is. Is how well Mark handles it all. And I know it's difficult. I know it's not easy. But his strength of character and the goodness of his heart, oh, boy, it's. He is a special. He's a special individual. He really is. He. He's a great, great friend. And he is a friend to every single person and every single celebrity, every single pro that's on this season. And I believe probably of every season in the past that he's. That he has been a part of, he is there for. And if you need a pep talk, if you need advice, if you want help with something, I don't know how he has the bandwidth, but he. He's just. He's a really special man. And I told him that tonight. I told him that, you know, his choreography this season was incredible. His dancing this season was incredible. All of it's great and yet none of it, to me is as beautiful as the character he showed throughout this year. And. And I told him I would continue to scream it from the rooftops to anybody who would listen, because I just think it should be known what an amazing man he is. And then my boy Dylan, he did a tango to. I would die for you. I thought his tango was amazing. I will say I did not see the feet. I wasn't super paying attention to his feet because I was so focused on his sharp head turns. Because I remember from when I did my tango, like, knowing how important those sharp head turns were. I was watching his elbow because I saw that something they were talking about in his package. I was really paying attention to, like, everything other than heel leads. And I know that heel leads are important. Derek called it out tonight, and I can't say that I paid any attention to that. So I can't even say like what, But I will say, because I did not without seeing that I thought this dance deserved at least 110. I don't know, call me crazy. I thought this dance was a little underscored. I really liked it. I thought the tango was great. I thought he did a great job keeping his booty tucked. And then they did a cha cha to kiss, which I was so proud of him for doing a cha cha. Because they didn't decide to do his best dance. They decided to do a dance that would really show how far he's come, which is, you know, you're calling it out, you're saying, hey, look at me. This is going to be good. That's why I'm doing it. Because I want you to compare it to my other one and notice how much better it is. I just, I think that kind of stuff is really. I love that. I think that, you know, it's what Whitney and Mark said, why they decided to do their dance as well. I. I thought this dance was incredible. Danny's choreography for. For this cha cha was spectacular. The way they used the musicality to punctuate the dance moves, I just thought it was great. And it didn't get as high of a score as I thought. And they were on the bottom of the leaderboard. And although that made me nervous, if there is one thing this season has showed us, it's that being at the bottom of the leaderboard doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that you're going home. So I wasn't. I wasn't too worried, but I was just a little bit worried. And when it came time to the elimination, I looked at Jensen, who was sitting next to me, and I said, I'm sorry, but I need to go sit with Dylan's family. And he was like, okay, go, go, go. And I got up and I ran across the. To the other side. And that's when I sat myself down in the chair and inserted myself into what eventually became a family photo, but without Dylan. So they wouldn't use it for a Christmas card. Anyway, Dylan's not in it. Oh, maybe they could just replace me with Dylan. They can Photoshop me or they can Photoshop Dylan over me. That's a good idea. I'll give them that suggestion. Anyway, I still ran over there, and I sat down next to Dylan's stepmom, and I held Dylan's girlfriend's shoulder. I held Courtney. She was sitting in front of me. I held Courtney's shoulder, and I had my arm around Dylan's stepmom. And we sat there holding our breath. And Elaine was the first one called safe. When alfonso said, She's 54, and the whole place erupted celebration for her, and she, you know, ran off. And then Alex and Val were next. They were called safe. And then Robert and Whitney were called safe and left standing up. There was Jordan and Ezra, Dylan and Danny, Whitney and Mark. And the second there was silence, I said out loud, dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny, Dylan and Danny. And they announced that Dylan and Danny were safe. And they walked off. And the minute I knew that it was down to Jordan and Whitney, I said, whitney's going home. And sure enough, they called Jordan and Ezra safe. And that was it. Whitney came walking down, and I was wondering if she was surprised, but I also know that she told me last week that she really thought she was going home last week. And, you know, I went out onto the ballroom floor, and she seemed very composed. And I said, I told you what I told her. I said, you know, you've already won. She said, I know I have. She gave everybody a hug. And then her and Mark walked, you know, after they talked to everybody, her and Mark walked up and then walked off the stage and she seemed very composed. She seemed like she was, you know, probably a little bit in shock and taking it all in. And then she changed clothes and she was on her way to go do the Dancing with the Stars podcast. And I saw her, I saw her one more time outside and then, you know, she was more emotional at that point. I think she had had some time to be with Connor and to let some of the emotions hit her. And it's never easy. It's never easy when the stuff, when this journey ends. Even if you make it all the way through the semifinals, you know, it won't be easy next week for the people in the finals. The show has a weird. It has a weird emotional hold over all of us. And I don't know if it's just dance. I think it's the immersion. I think it's the full immersion of our lives and our time and our physical bodies and the amount of vulnerability and trust it takes to do this kind of a schedule and in front of millions of people and to like, really let the world see you for who you are. The pros, the cons, the skills, the lack of skills, the flaws, all of it. And it's. I mean, I think maybe we're all trauma bonded, but like, good trauma. Is there such a thing? I don't think there's such a thing as good trauma, but like, you know, it's such a unique experience and it is so like in the trenches. I just think, yeah, there's. There's a weird bond, but. But I'm sad for Whitney. I'm sad for all of us who, who didn't get to do it for all 11 weeks. And even when it's over at 11 weeks, I'm gonna be sad for just all of us that it's over. I can't believe we don't get to like, do this for the rest of our lives. I know that sounds insane. I sound like an insane person. I'm gonna stop. It's late. It's 9:30. This is, you know, almost my bedtime. I mean, minutes away from my bedtime, so. Guys, we're at the finals. I can't even believe it. We're at the finals. I. It's just gonna be incredible. We get an Ezra freestyle. We get an Alan Burst in freestyle. We get a Daniella Kara Gosh freestyle. We get a Val Shperkovsky freestyle. We get a Whitney Carson freestyle. Guys, we are going to be just floating in freestyle. Goodness, I can't wait to see them. It's gonna be. It's gonna be spectacular. I cannot wait. Also, in the finale. Ya girl, that's me. I'm your girl. I get to dance in the finale. It's a very small little thing. I think there's, like, an opening number that I get to be a part of, and then there's some sort of bumper that I get to do. I don't know who I'm. I mean, obviously I'm paired with pasha. Pasha's my forever, forever partner. But I don't know, like, who I'm gonna be in a. In a grouping with. I think there's, like, two other couples. I don't know who they are. I will find out soon. Rehearsals for that start later this week. And then, I mean, it's a week from now. It is a week from now, the finale, and I can't wait to be there. I can't wait to tell you all about it immediately after it's over. I hope you guys are looking forward to it. And while we wait, I am going to be sitting down with one half of the dynamic duo that hosts dancing with the stars. That's right. He's 90s royalty. He's 2000s royalty. He's just american royalty. It's. It's Alfonso ribeiro. Can't wait to sit down and talk with Alfonso about what it's like to host dancing with the stars. It really does seem like a total dream job, and I want to know, is it. Is it as dreamy as it looks? And I want to talk to him about his dance schedule, too. I want to know, what kind of classes is he in? What's he up to? What's he doing? Anyway, thank you all for listening to this episode of Danielle with. I will see you all next time. Bye. Danielle with the stars produced and hosted by Danielle fishel. Executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy sugarman. Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo. Producer, editor and engineer Tara sudbaksh. Theme song by Justin segel. 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