Danielle Fishel is having a hard time with her upcoming dance on Dancing With The Stars.
This week, the Boy Meets World alum is performing a contemporary with her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov, to Dream On by Aerosmith for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night, and it is her most difficult dance yet. It is not only because of the choreography but also because the story they are telling is “triggering” for Danielle. She explained to her guest, former pro Louis van Amstel, on a new episode of her Danielle With the Stars podcast on Monday:
“We are telling the story about how difficult it can be to be a woman in society where we are somehow always too much and also never enough. No matter what choice you make, whether you work inside the home or outside the home. If you choose to work outside then you’re selfish and your children need you and where is their mother, and if you work inside the home, then you are boring and don’t have interests. And if you get botox and fillers then you’re not aging gracefully, and if you age gracefully, then you look old and ugly. And if you are too thin, you’re told to eat a burger and if you gain weight you’re told to get off the couch.”
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Oof. These are all things many women can, unfortunately, relate to. Although it’s an important topic to bring awareness to, Danielle is “resistant” to the dance as it’s bringing up a lot of negative feelings:
“There’s no winning, and having been in the public eye and on TV since I was 10 years old, I have been under a microscope, and my choices have been scrutinized. I’ve made terrible mistakes. … And I’m resistant to it because it’s triggering so many things in me.”
Becoming choked up, the actress shared that the dance sparked “a lot of negative self-talk,” “disordered eating,” and “all these things that are so personal.” And instead of “leaning into” the performance, she found it is “making me not want to do it.” Aww, no! Our hearts break for her! She continued:
“So it’s been a rough week. But I think the fact that I realized it, made me wake up and think, one, so happy to be talking to you and for you to give me the advice you gave me because it really lands and resonates, but also, it’s very clear that this is striking an emotional cord for me and there’s a reason for that and this dance actually means something.”
For his part, Louis thanked Danielle for opening up, saying it was a “beautiful, heartfelt moment” for her, and conversations like these were why he “loved doing Dancing With the Stars.” The professional dancer then reminded her that she has “nothing to lose” heading into week 8, adding:
“You’ve made it so far. You can take the nerves and give up, or you take the nerves and switch on, use the adrenaline and say, ‘People at home, watch this.’”
Well said. Danielle went on to say that although she’s “struggling” this week, the highlight has been leading her group in the team dance competition. Since Danielle had one of the lowest scores, she got to choose her teammates, so she picked Whitney Leavitt, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, and their partners Mark Ballas, Ezra Sosa, and Daniella Karagach, as well as co-host Alfonso Ribeiro. They are Team Chicago, dancing to the band’s song 25 or 6 to 4. She called the experience with them “amazing,” but she also has been dealing with feeling like the “weakest” link of the group:
“If I do say so myself, I picked an all-star team and it didn’t come randomly. I had a full strategy going into it, and my strategy paid off. I was thrilled with my choices, but my choices were such as I am by far, the weakest, at least female, link on the team, which is never fun. To feel like, ‘OK, everybody is picking this up really fast and I really need this to slow down.’”
Hey, dancing is not easy! There’s nothing wrong with needing to take it slower than everyone else!
Louis advised her to “let it go,” insisting she is not the “weakest link” but the person who “came in with the least experience.” He continued:
“The pressure is on them, not you. Everyone knows you have grown from week 1 to now, leaps and bounds, and you have the likability factor. And you have no problem with the character of the dance. Regardless of who is in your team … the only thing you can control is your movements, the involvement in the movements, listening to the music and do your part.”
Louis also suggested that Danielle stay off social media because focusing so much on what people think will make anyone “go psycho.” When asked if he had “one” piece of advice for her after watching her performances, he told her to “rip off all the layers that are left” of herself and give the “emotional self” that she hasn’t shown yet:
“We haven’t met, but you’re a kind person. It resonates, you can tell through the screen. You’re a kind person, the relationship you have with Pasha. But I would say, ‘F kind.’ Go for it.”
We are sending all the love to Danielle heading into her performance on Tuesday night! We know she is going to kill it in the ballroom! Watch a clip from her podcast (below):
If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, there is help available. Consider visiting https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ or call their hotline at (800)-931-2237 for resources.
[Image via Dancing With The Stars/BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions]
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