“Dancing with the Stars” semifinalist, Whitney Leavitt, continues to dominate headlines even after her elimination from Season 34 of the show.
Leavitt, a cast member on the reality series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives”, joined the season alongside her fellow castmate, Jennifer Affleck. Leavitt danced with Mark Ballas, a three-time Mirrorball champion, while newcomer Jan Ravnik partnered with Affleck.
Dancing with the Stars fan, Margaret Neville, said both cast members surpassed her expectations.
“I didn’t think Jen would be that good considering she just delivered a baby, but she exceeded my expectations,” the sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences said. “I knew Whitney would be good because of her history with dance, but [I] didn’t know she would be that good. There were times on the dance floor where Whitney looked like a pro.”
The duo advanced to the semifinals with consistent high scores. Leavitt performed several standout dances, including her Argentine tango and “Wicked Night” quickstep. The judges even gave her nearly perfect scores during the Prince Night semifinals.
Leavitt left the dance floor that night with an overall score of 58/60 and still was eliminated. In an interview after her elimination, Leavitt said,“I already feel like a winner.”
“Because Whitney is a very good dancer, her long run was to be expected,” said sophomore government and politics major Lily Cofer. “I was even a little surprised she was not in the final. However, while judges’ scores matter, DWTS is a popularity contest at the end of the day.”
Despite Leavitt’s elimination, she still performed one last time. Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper found a way to still share it with the world.
“We are doing something we have never done in the history of this show,” Cooper said on social media, teasing her podcast episode’s surprise: Leavitt’s final freestyle.
Just a week after her elimination, and a day after the series’ finale, Cooper debuted Leavitt’s freestyle on Call Her Daddy and left Dancing with the Stars fans in shock. The dance routine was set to the song “My Way,” blended with part of the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” theme song, “Secret Temptation.”
Fans posted online about their disbelief, marking how surprised they were to see her go. NYX Cosmetics, a popular makeup brand, commented on Dancing with the Stars’ post of Leavitt’s cha-cha on Prince Night, and said, “ugh they would have killed it in the finale.”
Dancing with the Stars co-host, Julianne Hough, also captioned a post on social media:
“I wish @whitleavitt could have done her freestyle tonight! Looking forward to what she has to say on @callherdaddy tomorrow!!!”
During the Call Her Daddy episode, Leavitt spoke about how she had some regrets about the first season of “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” and she was later joined on the podcast by Ballas. The duo talked about production for the final freestyle they performed, and most importantly, the amount of online hate Leavitt receives.
“There’s always going to be naysayers, there’s always going to be people hating on you,” Ballas said, “But there was a window of weeks where it was just intense.” The pair said that their friendship helped them get through it.
In the interview, Leavitt also teased that she booked her first movie and a dance that she and Ballas had performed together during the season “is going to come to life.” On Dec. 1, Leavitt confirmed on social media that she will be playing the part of Roxie Hart in Chicago The Musical.