Selma Blair’s tearful goodbye from ‘Dancing with the Stars’ made ‘Most Memorable Year’ a most inspiring night
They told us at the start of “Most Memorable Year” on “Dancing with the Stars” that there would be a game-changing announcement at the end of the night. I was skeptical that it would be much more than, say, revealing that there would be no elimination that night. But it turned out to be a genuine surprise: despite strong performances, Selma Blair had to withdraw from the competition for medical reasons.
“I’ve been monitored and in touch with my doctors,” Blair told her pro partner Sasha Farber during their clip package. “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 added about the progression of her multiple sclerosis, “With a chronic illness, you do have special considerations, and my body is definitely taking a hit. It’s way too much for the safety of my bones. There’s just intensive bone trauma and inflammation … I could do extensive damage that of course I do not want.”
But that didn’t stop her from performing one last routine on the show, a waltz to “What the World Needs Now is Love.” “This is a dance for everyone that has tried and hopes that they could do more, but also the power in realizing when it’s time to walk away.” It was a performance that brought the judges and her fellow contestants to tears. “If the others have climbed hills, you have climbed mountains,” head judge Len Goodman told her. Derek Hough called her “a beacon of light.” Bruno Tonioli said, “I feel privileged to have known you.” And Carrie Ann Inaba called her a “living, breathing, elegantly dancing miracle” who has “brought so much awareness for people who struggle with chronic illness, who deal with chronic pain. You have been nothing but an inspiration.”
If it’s even possible, things got even more emotional when Blair and Farber went to the sky box to talk with “DWTS” co-host Alfonso Ribeiro. “I don’t think people understand what this show means to us here,” she explained. “I wish I could stay and learn and be all the things I wish when I watch everyone here. I’m so proud of everyone and I’m so proud of this audience for seeing us.” Farber told Ribeiro what their partnership has meant to him: “She’s inspired me again. She’s inspired so many people out there. She is a wonderful mother, an iconic actress, and a beautiful dancer now.”
The judges each stood up and gave her 10s across the board — the first perfect score of the season.