Actress Selma Blair has announced her departure from the US Dancing With The Stars competition for health problems related to multiple sclerosis (MS).
On Monday night’s episode, the star tearfully told her competition mate Sasha Farber that she should have quit the show, but was determined to perform one last ballroom dance before leaving.
Diagnosed with the permanent condition affecting the brain and nerves in 2018, the 50-year-old said it was her most memorable year, having been ill for “many years” before her diagnosis.
In a pre-recorded clip, she told Farber that she had been “monitored and in contact” with her doctors throughout her time on the series and had recently performed a few MRI scans.
“The results are back and it all adds up to the fact that I can’t go on with the competition,” said Blair.
“I pushed as hard as I could. I’m sorry Sash.”
Turning to the camera and holding back tears, she explained: “With a chronic illness you have special considerations and my body is definitely taking a hit.
“It’s too much for the safety of my bones. There’s just intense bone trauma and inflammation between tears and tears, and I could do extensive damage which, of course, I don’t want to do.”
Selma Blair and Sasha Farber won a maximum score of 40 points for her last dance on the show
“For all those who have tried and hope to do more”
However, Blair insisted he wanted to perform “one last beautiful dance,” with last night’s show challenging the stars to show an emotional routine that represented the most impactful years of their lives.
“This is a dance for anyone who has tried and hopes to do more, but also the power to know when it’s time to leave. I’m so grateful to do one last gentle dance,” she said.
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Dancing to the beat of the song What The World Needs Now, Blair and Farber dazzled with their waltz and received a perfect score of 40 from the judges.
Many of Blair’s contestants and audience members could be seen crying after the emotional performance.
“You continue to inspire countless millions of people around the world”
In an Instagram post, Dancing With The Stars praised the duo, saying, “Selma Blair and Sasha Farber gave us a memorable evening with a beautiful final performance.
“Thank you, Selma, for inspiring us with your perseverance and your radiant energy.”
Others have described the actress as an “inspiration”, a “world changer” and a “dance queen”.
The National MS Society thanked Blair for sharing her journey with the condition.
“Selma Blair, your Dancing With The Stars journey may have come to an end, but you continue to inspire nearly a million people with MS in the United States and countless millions around the world,” the organization said in a tweet.
Throughout his career, Blair has starred in numerous films and TV shows, including the 2001 hit Legally Blonde.
She got her big break in 1999 in the cult film Cruel Intentions and talked about her MS diagnosis in the 2021 documentary, Introducing, Selma Blair.
