Sometimes, even after 20-odd years of being known for its falsities, reality television can still deliver a moment so bracingly real that there’s nothing to do about it but cry into your morning coffee. One of those moments happened on Dancing With the Stars last night, when Selma Blair, a movie star known for movies such as Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde, had to leave the competition. Blair was diagnosed with MS in 2018 and did DWTS knowing it was possible the dancing would be too difficult on her body. After four weeks of competition, Blair’s doctors decided to pull her from the competition.
For DWTS, it’s not unusual for a contestant to leave the competition — it’s a physically demanding show! Nor is it out of the question for a person with a disability to compete; Nyle DiMarco, who is deaf, won season 22. But what made Blair’s departure not only desperately sad but also stunning was that she was able to perform one last waltz with her partner, Sasha Farber. Her final performance was a beautiful moment of television. She has a movie star’s understanding of how to savor a moment onscreen, and the dance is made even more potent by the fact that it was inspired by the joy she felt when she finally received her MS diagnosis after years of suffering in confusion. Plus what you don’t see in the video above is that it led to the first perfect score of the season.