"whitney & mark's final dance"
my reactions to the new episode of call her daddy from several angles
On Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the airing of the Dancing With the Stars finale, Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas sat down with Alex Cooper. Their motives for appearing on Call Her Daddy were to discuss their elimination from the competition, bite back at the slew of online hate and showcase their freestyle that was never performed.
I had several opinions about the announcement in general. I also, like most of the world, sat down to watch the episode in full. Today’s post is going to be all about that. I am writing this in a new way with my reactions, thoughts, feelings, etc. all be recorded in real time.
I also want to preface that I am watching and reacting to this as someone who does not (and will not) watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
WHITNEY
Addressing prior dance experience:
I never saw what the big deal about that rumor was. Plenty of contestants on the show have some form of dance experience. Several WINNERS of Dancing with the Stars have experience. One that comes to mind right away is Charli D’Amelio who won with Mark Ballas on Season 31.
Whitney says that she has a degree in “modern dance” from BYU but has not danced professionally since she started motherhood pretty soon after she graduated. That seems fair to me! God forbid a woman have talent.
Addressing motives for coming back to TSLOMW:
You would think that the person who gets the villain edit would not return to a show. But Whitney did. And what shot her in the foot (apparently) was that she only came back to her reality show so she could be casted on Dancing with the Stars. That episode aired right before the semifinals where she and Mark were sent home.
I believe that statement, whilst completely valid, is tacky. That is not to say that she did not have a right to say it. She has the right to say and do whatever she wants. I just think that Whitney needs some media training to teach her that optics matters. Sure, you can say that you only came back for some gain in their area. However, when you do not think downstream when you speak, you say things that will tank you later.
Ultimately, I do think her mouth cost her the trophy. Another scandal that came from Dancing with the Stars was her saying the F-word live on ABC and Disney+ multiple times. I am sure production did not like that.
There was also a scandal that included Mark where the two had essentially organized a giveaway that was not cleared by the network and an obvious bribery ploy for votes. Not cool and not a way to be in good graces.
Jen Affleck, another member of the Mormon Wives cast that was on Dancing with the Stars also, said that Whitney only wanted to be a part of the show because she did too. That is a very catty and juvenile statement. When the competition has been around for 20 years, a lot of people (myself included) have dreamed of being a part. Whitney’s response to that was world class:
“I think that everybody can have the same dream. Everybody can have the same goal. And we just happened to have the same dream and the same goal and I’m just happy that we both got to do that.”
Addressing how she was cast:
Whitney was very candid to say that she was essentially promised a chance to audition if she returned to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Oh boy. I know the network won’t like that either. I am not surprised that it was done. ABC producers are known to be a little calculated and manipulative. Watch a season of any Bachelor show and you will see what I mean.
What did surprise me—again—was the fact that she said it out loud. I do admire her candor to some degree. I just do not know if she will last in the spotlight without a lesson in angling her perspective.
Addressing her reaction to Jen’s elimination:
When Jen was sent home, there was a video of Whitney that seemed to be her smirking and fighting off a smile. Very bad optics for sure.
Whitney cited that she was feeling the dual emotions of being saved from elimination but also mourning a friend going home. While she said that she does not remember smiling, she did debunk the idea that she was rejoicing Jen being sent home.
Jen did go to TikTok and make another catty post about Whitney saying that she “would not be supporting another MomTok person.” I hate it. And Whitney mentioned several times that it sucked.
Whitney went on to say that she does not know if she and Jen even have a relationship. Apparently, there were things that were done that will be revealed on the next seasons of Mormon Wives. Long story short, per Whitney, feelings were hurt. She is on good terms with the rest of the cast of Mormon Wives, however, and is thankful for those bonds.
WHITNEY AND MARK
When Mark arrives, he talks about his time on Dancing with the Stars, his break and what got him out of retiring. After he and his wife lost their baby during Season 31, he decided to pull away. Then, when his first son was born, he found the drive to get back in shape for dancing then returned to the show. Which brings us to Season 34 and the highly anticipated return of THE Mark Ballas.
For those who are not privy to Dancing with the Stars lore, Mark is one of the most iconic male pros in the show’s history. He has three wins and is known for his masterful choreography. He’s a dancing legend.
Whitney mentioned that the hardest part of their relationship was the hate they got online. Mark said that the first four weeks were great for them. It’s clear that the both of them are on the same page about where the shift was for them and the competition.
Addressing the giveaway:
Mark says the idea was innocent when it was brought up. He also said that they had so much on their plate and they forgot to run it by the network. While there were only two tickets, it ended up being a huge debacle.
Whitney chimed in, also saying that they did not account for the fact that they did not remember they weren’t their tickets to give away.
I did like that Mark took fullest accountability since he has been on the show for so long. It was a pretty professional way to go about it.
Addressing Carrie Ann hate:
Mark came to defense of Carrie Ann Inaba, saying that tearing down a woman for doing her job was unacceptable. I agree. Sure, she is the “Simon Cowell” of the show. She can be a bit of a stickler. However, when you bully someone for their looks, you get too far. No matter what.
Another well spoken answer from the pair, given how vicious social media had gotten for the both of them.
Addressing the elimination:
Mark and Whitney both felt that they saw the cut coming, especially with the newest season of Mormon Wives coming out the week before.
When asked what they thought led to them not getting the votes, Whitney said that part of it was surely Mormon Wives. Mark spoke to the loyalty of the fanbase that is 20 years strong. “Sometimes this sh*t happens.”
It really is as simple as that. There are some weeks where you win America over and other weeks that you don’t. It is unfortunate that the votes against them came in such droves but that is the way of the show.
Addressing America banding together against them:
Mark talked about how he realized that the fanbase found the loophole in voting someone off. You cannot really vote someone off BUT when you give everyone votes except for one…you can surely affect their standings.
Whitney also went on to detail how it affected them individually, in person and on the floor.
Mark read a message he had received that was really vile. Over a dancing show. I will not recount what was in the message but know that it had crossed the line. Severely crossed the line. I want to echo Mark’s sentiment: when you get into the entertainment industry, you sign up for push back. You do not sign up for death threats and pure hatred. It’s sick.
Whitney spoke up to say that she was somewhat desensitized to Internet hatred. Her pain also came from the fact that Mark had been dealing with some much hatred for the first time and she felt that it was her fault.
I do hate that for her too. While she may be polarizing, she should never feel like she is the blame for the stupidity of keyboard warriors.
Thankfully, Whitney and Mark did have the bond of the cast. Social media provides new territory for the pros as they navigate new waters. Mark talked about how the pros would sit together and debrief their opinions about how the Internet changes the show forever.
Final comments to the haters:
Whitney’s final words to people who were celebrating and spreading hate were simply: “F*** you.”
As someone who did participate in that and be thankful for her elimination, I receive that well. I wanted her gone but I will never stand for bullying. My voting against her came from a spot of an avid watcher of the show. Any attacks of her personal self are too far. People who wish evil on others deserve to be told “f*** you” to their face, followed by a punch.
Mental health matters. You can disagree with a score or a dance or anything else without destroying someone’s will to live.
My opinions on the interview after watching it:
I came into it completely wrong. At first, I was thinking this would be a cope or some sort of victimization. I also thought that they would be only performing the freestyle and not talking.
But, after really chewing on what was said, I am happy that Alex is using her platform for these conversations. Social media has gone too far. It does create a lot of strife. It does ruin a lot of the fun. And maybe, by talking about how it affects people, we can start to fix things.
I want to recant my previous statements: I am proud of Mark and Whitney for being brave enough to speak into the momentum and not AT the momentum. The easy thing would have been to go on a rage and be fire and brimstone about the matter. Instead, they simply spoke their side and let us into very vulnerable spaces. That takes a lot of guts.
THE FREESTYLE
Holy crap. It was really, really, really good. Somehow, with it being done in tandem with the interview, it had a bigger impact. Doing a freestyle about the woes of social media and mental health on the tailend of a talk about that very thing is fitting and eerie. I loved it. I would give it a perfect 30.
An extra bonus to ABC for clearing this for them. Even getting the Dancing with the Stars announcer to read off their intro was cool. Well done all.
Watch it only after you see the discussion. If you skip, you miss the point.