American actress, Selma Blair’s sad exit from the Disney+ show, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ has made media waves. The reason for her departure isn’t that she was eliminated from the show, though. It was unfortunately prompted by a disease she was diagnosed with, in 2018.
On Monday, the 17th day of October, it was announced that there won’t be any elimination from the show. However, the ‘Most Memorable Year’ episode was going to be an epic one. Eventually, the audience and viewers realized that the special episode of the show had something to do with the announcement of Selma Blair’s voluntary exit. This departure is due to complications from the 2018-diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis she suffers.
Selma Blair’s Exit Brought Tears to the Eyes of Everyone on the Show
During the mid-season episode of the 31st season of ‘Dancing With the Stars’, Selma Blair revealed that she was done with the show. Before the live performance, she had a meeting with her dance partner, Sasha Farber, to whom she first broke the news. Her exit was due to her long-term illness which was diagnosed to be Multiple Sclerosis, in 2018.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects and has a great impact on the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves of a person. Ultimately, MS could cause problems affecting memory, speech, and stability.
According to the actress, she had an MRI done in the second week of October and upon receiving the results, she was advised to slow things down. As a result of this, she took the decision to back out of the competition.
52-year-old Selma further explained that if she continued to do what she loved and enjoyed – dancing, she would be putting her health in jeopardy. The partners were overwhelmed and emotional Sasha held his partner in a close embrace for a while.
Despite this unfortunate incident, the Legally Blonde actress insisted on dancing one last time in the competition.
Selma Blair and Sasha Farber danced to ‘What the World Needs Now’ by Andra Day. The dance was slow and gentle and passed several emotions through the audience and viewers. Most of the dancers, judges and spectators watched with tears in their eyes as prior to this, her exit and reason for it was announced during the show.
At the end of their Monday performance, the partners got a perfect score of 40/40, the very first in the season. Judges, professional dancers, and celebrities even lined up on stage to hug Blair before she left.
Backstage, during her interview, she expressed how fulfilling being on the show has been. When asked if she would be available for the grand finale, she said she was hopeful.
Blair Has Been Seriously Sick for Over 10 Years
For about 10 years, Blair Selma had been on bed rest before she decided to risk being part of the show. She suffered greatly during the shooting of Netflix’s Another Life and had the help of her costume designer, Allisa Swanson, to dress up.
Some more consequences of the disease were fainting spells, loss of vision, and misbalance. She also had difficulty with her left side which according to her, seemed like it needed GPS to function properly.
In the wake of all these, the actress cum dancer sometimes goes ‘off’ for a while. For this reason, she got a dog named Scout who is her service dog. Scout’s job is mainly to help catch Blair before she falls to the ground. He also helps to make her fall less impactful and gives her a walking balance.
Although the Michigan-born has been ill for over 10 years, suffering the symptoms of MS, she only knew she suffered from it in 2018. As of 2022, she had battled with and lived with the incurable disease for 5 years.
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She Once Danced Blindfolded Due to Her Illness
Before she danced to Sheena Easton’s ‘For Your Eyes Only’ with Farber, Selma Blair suffered a fainting spell. She told her dance partner about this a day before one of their rehearsal for the Rumba dance.
Even with Sasha’s insistence that the mother of one should take the day off and rest, she refused. Blair showed up for the rehearsal which was planned for just 2 hours. However, the practice lingered for about 5 hours despite her ill health.
During an interview with the dance partners, Sasha stated that his older partner would be blindfolded through their number. The reason for this is to let Selma dance comfortably.
Sasha Farber noted during their rehearsals that Blair was more comfortable dancing with her eyes closed. The actress also admitted that whenever she was doing her basic house chores, she used to close her eyes to get through them.
There was however another reason for dancing blindfolded though. This other reason was a tribute to Selma’s late mother who she felt was always with her even if she couldn’t see her. According to the dancer, she felt like she was in the same space as her mother at the time.
Selma Blair Gives Hope to the Disabled
One of the actress’s fulfillment from being on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ was the fact that she defied the odds and was actively in entertainment for a while. 5 years after her diagnosis, she was advised by her doctors, after monitoring her, to stay away from dancing.
She couldn’t continue to stress the nerves and bones because they could continue to swell and cause more damage.
However, she is grateful that she could take such a risk and even excel at it. Amongst the crew and other contestants of the show, nobody had anything bad to say about her.
Ultimately, she is grateful for the fact that she could be a source of inspiration and motivation to the challenged. Selma Blair takes pride in the fact that because of her, other people who are physically challenged can take up such risks and even excel at them.
Despite the illness, the actress and former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ dancer, promised to keep finding ways to dance. She admitted that although she was disadvantaged to an extent, she also found some sort of advantage in the situation. Moving on, the illness could cause Selma Blair to retire totally from entertainment. Seeing that she has been active since 1990, she has paid her dues and has amassed a lot of experience, money, and fans. The actress would be greatly missed but may not totally leave the scene. She is already into advocacy and may just continue to be an advocate and even an ambassador for the creation and spread of awareness of Multiple Sclerosis.
