A hard decision. Selma Blair announced that she’s leaving Dancing With the Stars due to health concerns amid her ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis.
“We need to talk,” the Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane alum, 50, said to her partner Sasha Farber during the Monday, September 17, episode of the Disney+ reality competition series. Blair revealed that her doctors had been monitoring her throughout the competition and recent tests found that her body was under significant stress. “It just all adds up to … I can’t go on with the competition,” she said, before adding that she wanted to have “one last gentle dance” with Farber, 38.
The duo performed a Waltz to “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Andra Day. The song came out in 2017, the year the Cruel Intentions actress received her MS diagnosis.
“I was sick for so many years. I was searching and searching for how to help myself,” Blair said in a pre-taped package. She shared that when her 11-year-old son Arthur was young, she would look at other mothers who were active and wonder why she couldn’t be more like them. “I just thought, ‘Oh, I’m a failure as a mom,’” she said, adding that getting diagnosed was “a huge relief” and “the beginning of recovery as a person.”
After the Michigan native’s final moments on the ballroom floor, the judges congratulated her for making it this far. Len Goodman told her, “This competition is hard for everyone, but If the others have climbed hills, you have climbed mountains.” Derek Hough called the Legally Blonde actress “a beacon of light” and said that she had an “impeccable “reputation” for being kind to everyone involved with DWTS. All four judges gave her a 10 out of 10, earning her a perfect score of 40.
“Every one of you, I’m so honored to be in this room with you. I sob, it’s true,” Blair said during her post-dance interview with cohost Alfonso Ribeiro. She explained that although it was hard to make the decision to step back, she owed it to her son to prioritize her health. Arthur, whom The Sweetest Thing actress shares with ex-boyfriend Jason Bleick, joined her onstage after the performance.
“This competition has shown me how much I love to be with people who are trying their hardest,” she said. “How much I love being around music even though I don’t have musicality.” She added
Farber, for his part, told Ribeiro, 51, that his partner helped him cope with a difficult time in his life after he lost a close friend earlier this year. “Getting to dance with her … she’s just turned everything the way that it needs to be. She’s inspired me again,” he said.
Due to the Kath & Kim alum’s early exit from DWTS, no couples were eliminated during the episode. One pair will be sent home at the end of the Tuesday, October 18, episode. Votes cast during the Monday’s show will still count toward the Tuesday elimination.
Dancing With the Stars airs on Disney+ Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
