Movieline's Dancing with the Stars commentator Erin Andrews is back with a slew of thoughts about this week's 200th episode. If you were observant, you saw that she sat in the audience with her old pal Evan Lysacek. Andrews also met up with beleaguered Bachelor Jake Pavelka, cheered for Kyle Massey, and got to meet Mel B. (who remains our finest Spice Girl). Join us for a discussion about Bristol Palin's chances to win, Jennifer Grey's status as the front-runner, and a frank discussion about how Dancing with the Stars helped Andrews to trust men again.
So Erin, once again you got to watch the show in person. Tell us your favorite parts of being back.
It was really a great time. A lot of the former stars I'd never met before [were there], and so it's funny because, in my eyes, a lot of them are big time. With me, I kind of duck my head a little bit and walk by them because I'm like, "I don't think any of these people know who I am." But a lot of them came up to Evan and I and said, "Oh, we loved you on the show! You guys are great!" I got to meet Tia Carrere, who had obviously danced with Maks before, and I had never met her before. I got to spend a little time with Mel B. too, which I wanted to do. So much fun, like afterward we went to this big party, and all they did was play music and everybody was dancing. It was just a blast. It was how you'd think a Dancing with the Stars party would go, if you thought there'd be one -- minus the rhinestones, the sequins, and the spray tan.
You'd mentioned that you really wanted to talk to Mel B. What was that like? I was 12 when "Wannabe" came out, so I'm part of a generation that once believed she was Aphrodite incarnate.
She's still Aphrodite. If you look at her body -- I was shocked about her legs. Her whole body is amazing, and just the way she carries herself is the way she carries herself on TV. So blunt, hilarious. She'd give it to Maks when he deserved it, when they worked together. It was great to see her for a little bit, and even Tia because I'm a huge Wayne's World fan. Evan and I started talking to her the way Wayne and Garth would in their language -- "If you were a babe, you'd be Baberaham Lincoln" and stuff like that, cheesy as it sounds. And then meeting Trista [Sutter, the one-time Bachelorette] for the first time, she came up to me and was like, "You probably don't know who I am." And I was like, "Trista, when I was in college, everyone wanted to be you because you got married to the good-looking fireman and all the girls wanted the Bachelorette wedding." It was a blast.
So you're still good friends with Evan Lysacek, eh?
Oh, yes. He's one of my best friends with the show. It was great seeing Kelly Osbourne too; she was in the press line next to me and Evan. She asked us if we got as close as she and Louie Vito got because I guess she and Louie Vito became close on the show. And we were like, "Oh, yeah, we became really best friends." Then she said, "I heard you and Evan were naughty together." And I was like, "Naughty?! What do you mean?" She said, "You were always getting in trouble together." Evan and I, even Niecy too, we were the loudest and silliest ones. Something that's very different from season eleven with season ten -- we always got in trouble running around to people's dance studios. Evan and I were saying that Kyle Massey would really fit in with us because he's very silly.
You were with Evan and Jake Pavelka in the audience. Are you guys friends with him?
Oh, it was great! We were surprised not a lot of people from our cast came; I'm sure everybody had commitments. It's hard to get away from work. It was good to see Jake and meet his new girlfriend, but when Evan and I get together, no one else gets a chance to get a word in edgewise. We dominate the conversation, we're loud, and we apologize to anyone who sat behind or in front of us. We'll scream for people and give our own commentary. So it was great to see Jake, but the poor guy didn't a word in.
I'm sure you were entertaining enough.
Who knows?
Onto the dancing: What did you make of the group numbers? The judges scored both teams closely, but I thought Apolo Ohno's team was far better.
I think the way the groups were divided -- and Len said this too -- he thought the group that Cheryl, Rick, Mark, and Bristol were in would be the underdogs. Because the other group was a powerhouse -- with Maks and Derek. But I thought honestly that both groups were really, really good. I know Evan was surprised with the second group's beating out the first. The first group was a get-out-of-your-seat, jamming-out thing. And the second group? They were good technically, they had the strongest dancers of the whole competition, but -- I'm so biased, I'm rooting for Maks non-stop. Last year in our group dance we lost, so I'm glad that Maks's group was the winner this time around.
Also: What was Kristi Yamaguchi thinking when she picked Bristol Palin first in her group? I was so confused. She needed Brandy on her team.
You never know with Dancing with the Stars what's going on behind the scenes. You don't know if maybe she was told that's what was happening. So it's hard when you look at it and it's like, "Huh. That's weird." But something may have happened behind the scenes where [producers] had said, "This is who we want you to pick. This is what we want you to do." So I don't know going into it if it was a preconceived bit there.
I mean, I know Kristi was partnered with Mark Ballas when she won her season. Would that have affected things?
That's a good point. Maybe she knew he's such a good choreographer.
I was also confused when Kelly Osbourne and Gilles Marini judged performances and didn't give 10s like the other former cast members. I mean, they were there to boost morale, not hand down real scores, right?
Again, you don't know what happened behind the scenes. When Kelly and Gilles' group came up, someone else gave a ten, right? You don't know the conversations that happen, like, "You can't all just give out tens." I don't know if those scores were for real.
Which of the individual dances did you love?
I have to tell you, and obviously I'm always loving on Maks and saying what a great job he and Brandy do, and I will do that again, but I really love Kyle. I hope the voters are taking notice of Kyle, and I think he and Lacey are doing such a fabulous job. The choreography is always so dead on. The costumes are great. His little bit before the dance was hysterical, when he was trying to channel Maks with the painted-on abs and everything. That was so funny. Like I said, he'd have fit in with me and Evan on season ten. The cast is not silly this year! I thought Brandy and Maks did a wonderful job; she's kind of got the inner -- not diva, but -- she's got that inner sexuality; she's a hot woman. You could tell she was focused and she really wanted to get back from where she was last week, from losing control. And I thought Rick and Cheryl did a great job too! That's why I'm kind of surprised with the whole outcome.
Oh, we'll get to that. But quickly, a word about Kyle: I don't think the judges give him enough credit for really "selling" some of the dances.
I love him because he's so entertaining. I really hope the voters see that. Kyle, I worried, would get lost in the mix with the two athletes, the two great dancers, and, like, "Oh, yeah, there's that kid Kyle." He's hilarious and hysterical, and he's a baby. He's working so hard to compete with these adults.
Now, Rick and Cheryl: Describe your feelings about their elimination.
I'm shocked. I really am. I think again heading into this week you had thoughts about who would go home, and it wasn't Rick and Cheryl for me at all. He's been getting better every single week! I don't know if it's a situation where he just didn't have the votes. It's funny, when you talk to people that I did inside with the show, you say, "How did Audrina go home?" And it's like, well, can Audrina [appeal to] middle America that doesn't know The Hills? The demographic that watches this show knows Jennifer Grey from Dirty Dancing, they all love Maks and Derek, so they'll cheer for them, and they all know Bristol Palin. I'm wondering if Rick fell into the same category with the two athletes. But it kind of surprises me because -- I love Kurt and cheer for him, but when you put the two athletes together, everyone loves Rick because he's this exotic, tall, good-looking guy. I was concerned that Kurt wouldn't get as many votes. He's a gorgeous guy, he played for the Lakers, but I guess America really appreciates that this is a little bit of a struggle for Kurt. He's really trying to learn and get better. But it's all still very confusing to me. I don't get it. They didn't deserve to go home this week.
Which reminds me: Is Bristol Palin actually gaining power?
I'm not sure! I have no idea. Someone mentioned to me, "I guess all the Republicans are voting for her." Has this become a political thing? I'm not sure what America's take is. Maybe they're looking at her like a Kelly Osbourne. Kelly was so endearing to everyone, and she had this total transformation and America loved it. I can see why. She was so easy to cheer for. Maybe that's the stance that America is taking. They feel bad for this girl that -- like, Kelly said, their parents stole the show and they wanted to get out of their parents' shadow -- and maybe that's what's endearing to America. I think honestly that everyone is shocked that she stayed. But the other side of it is, "Good for her!" If she's putting as much work into is as it looks like she is, and she's enjoying the process, if she's becoming her own person, well, at least it's making the show very interesting.
Is Jennifer Grey still the front-runner?
I think right now the front-runner is Brandy. I think Jennifer is so talented, and I think in the beginning she was the front-runner and the struggles between Maks and Brandy helped her. I think what she should tone down a little is -- not so much her saying, "I'm 50 years old." I think that helps her! I think that helps her in the competition. Like, Niecy's stance was, "I'm the girl who got kicked out of my ballet class for being overweight, and people never thought I could do this." I know that my mom sits at home, watches Jennifer Grey bust out a tango like nobody's business, and go, "Wow. I'm going to vote for her." I think the only thing that may hurt her -- and I know it's difficult, I fought with Maks every week, I cried -- but not getting upset about it every single week. Use the being 50 years old! Knock it dead every week! I think the part that's going to weigh on America, like Maks and I worried our fighting would weigh on America, is the full-on tears in every [clip] package. People are going to start tuning that out and voting for Brandy and Maks. But I still feel Kyle could be the wild card in this thing. He is so funny, likable, and brings a breath of fresh air. He can mix it up.
I'm sure Jennifer Grey is in intense pain sometimes, but when she complains about her body, I'm always confused because she clearly has immense dance ability.
I think the doctor visits and telling Derek she needs the 20-minute breaks is great. That shows America, "I'm older than all of these people doing this show. I've been through this, I've been through cancer, I've been through a car accident." America is rooting for her on that. One thing you learn when you do the show and you feel a meltdown coming, and this would happen with me and Maks, you say, "I have to go to the bathroom really fast." They can't go inside the bathroom. Have the meltdown, turn off the mic, go in the bathroom and have your bathroom. I know that's what Maks and I started to do at the end of the season. America got tired of us fighting. It was like, OK, enough. It's too much. We would just be like, "Hey, I need a minute." That may be important for her down the stretch, because it could work against her. It's not that her body is falling apart, but maybe it's just getting too emotional on camera.
I adore her, but I have to agree.
I mean, I get being tired. You can get a cup of coffee, bring it back to the studio, it could not be hazelnut, and that could make you break down. You're exhausted. You're cross-eyed. You miss your family and friends, and you're just like, "Oh my gosh. I want to see the daylight. I don't want to be in this studio." But it would help her if she saved some of it, went and got a cup of coffee and maybe had a meltdown on the drive there.
Anything else you can tell us from being in-studio? Any strange anecdotes?
Let's see. I actually sat next to a 60 Minutes producer at the show. They're thinking of doing a piece on Dancing with the Stars. She picked my brain a little bit, and I know I've said this before, but you look at the stars who come back to the show, people like Emmitt Smith, people who've won Super Bowls. You look at guys like Kurt Warner. You're the best that you can be in your own profession, but there's something about this show that makes you want to come back, makes you want to celebrate it. I'm so emotional about it. I mean, look at Kelly Osbourne and how this show changed her life and gave her confidence in being a woman. It's the same thing for me. I was telling the 60 Minutes producer that I can't get through a story or even a sentence about Maks without tearing up. Kelly was talking about how much Louis Van Amstel means to her. Margaret Cho had talked about the therapy of this show. It's not as good for the people who are using the show to boost their careers.
The reason I get emotional is that Maks peeled away a layer of my skin and showed the whole world my insecurities. I had 20 million people looking at them. He told me, "You deal with this here and now, or you go out on stage in front of America and look like a fool." With me, it taught me to trust men, which I wasn't ready to do in my life because of everything I went through. I had him help guide me on how to make these insecurities a strength. It's the most vulnerable you'll be. That's why you see Emmitt Smith with his wife. The show takes you to another journey you never thought you'd be on. So it's funny, you do the show, you party, but then it ends up being a group therapy session and you talk about how it changed your life. It's kind of creepy! You think the show is just having so much fun, and putting on spray tan and crazy costumes, but for a lot of people that use it the right way, it is therapeutic.