Selma Blair has withdrawn from Dancing with the Stars due to health concerns, after suffering “intensive bone trauma” following a perfect score on the show.
The 50-year-old actor had been taking part in the latest series of the US competition up until Monday’s episode, when she decided to exit, following medical consideration.
Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018, a lifelong condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, leading to problems with vision, muscle spasms, and mobility issues.
The Cruel Intentions star is often seen using a cane due to these issues.
Blair announced her decision to leave Dancing with the Stars in a pre-packaged video clip on Monday’s episode, aired before her final dance on the show.
She said: “I had these MRIs and the results came back and it just all adds up to… I can’t go on with the competition.
“With a chronic illness, you do have special considerations, and my body is definitely taking a hit. It’s way too much for the safety of my bones. There’s just intensive bone trauma and inflammation… I could do extensive damage that, of course, I do not want.”
Blair went on to say that she and professional partner Sasha Farber had therefore decided they would perform their last dance together this week.
The actor then danced the waltz to the song What the World Needs Now and there wasn’t a dry eye left in the studio by the end.
Blair was awarded the perfect score of 40 by judges afterwards.
Speaking to Variety later, Blair opened up more about her decision to exit the dancing competition
She explained: “I didn’t think I’d even have this earnestness in my lifetime to genuinely want to do this and for risk of embarrassment.
“Forgetting my disabilities or my chronic illness, I wasn’t an accomplished dancer at all. So it’s always scary to put it out there.
“Seeing how every dancer that has come on this show this season has been truly a top-notch star, that makes me realise something really big about our perceptions of people or certain shows or what we think. This is gold here.”
Blair declared her heart to be “broken in the best way” following her exit, adding: “What these celebrities and pros put together is real passion of some kind of self-love, acceptance, and performance.
“It’s a really wonderful reminder and, to be embraced by these people, my heart is broken in the best way.”
