- An interaction between Danielle Fishel and Whitney Leavitt from Tuesday's Dancing with the Stars is going viral.
- Danielle appears to shut down Whitney for celebrating after Lauren Jauregui's elimination.
- Danielle addressed Lauren's elimination on her podcast, Danielle With the Stars.
Update 10/2: Danielle Fishel denied that she had shut Whitney Leavitt down on DWTS. Caught by TMZ leaving rehearsals, Danielle denied that she had been putting Whitney “in her place” in the viral moment. “It's a roller coaster of emotions. We can be happy for ourselves and our friends that were safe and also sad that somebody is gone,” she said. “I definitely did not put her in her place, but I just went to comfort my friend.”
Original story 10/2: Reports of tensions behind the scenes of Dancing With the Stars have been steadily increasing over the course of season 34—and we’re only a few weeks in. The latest gossip has to do with Whitney Leavitt and Danielle Fishel after a viral clip from Tuesday’s episode appears to show Danielle shutting down Whitney on DWTS, following Lauren Jauregui’s elimination.
Lauren was sent home in a surprise elimination on Tuesday, September 30, after low scores landed her at the bottom of the leaderboard. Meanwhile Whitney and Danielle enjoyed high scores and sailed through to next week—a fact Whitney seemed eager to celebrate when they got on stage to say goodbye to Lauren.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment captured by fans online, you can see the dancers and contestants gathering around Lauren and her partner Brandon Armstrong to comfort them, but as soon as Whitney is pushed to the back of the group, she smiles and appears to want to celebrate her success with Danielle.
Instead of joining in, Danielle appears to shut Whitney down, though given the camera angle, her face isn’t visible on the screen. However, you can clearly see Whitney’s face drop immediately after, as if she’s been told now is not the time for celebration.
Multiple DWTS fans reposted the strange interaction on TikTok, where fans are currently arguing over what, exactly, we’re all looking at. Some claim that Danielle might have scolded Whitney and told her to read the room, while others say that Whitney’s reaction was completely justified given her high scores that night.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, one user posted a different angle of the interaction, saying that any Danielle wasn’t actually shutting Whitney down. In this video, Danielle’s face is in full view, and she appears to be as enthusiastic as Whitney before turning back to the group.
Neither star has commented on the viral clip, but Danielle did address Lauren’s elimination on her podcast, Danielle with the Stars.
“I never would have suspected that Lauren was going home. I am bummed about it, I really love Lauren. I love watching her perform” she said in part, adding that she and Lauren were rooting for each other. “I'm very sad that she went home tonight.”
