Dancing with the Stars is winding down to its final weeks of the season. That means that the routines and the critiques are getting tougher.
Simone Biles has been slaying the competition, but has received on-and-off criticism about the emotion she shows during her routines. She herself admitted that she struggles with channeling certain emotions every week, as the judge’s critiques are ever-changing.
During this week’s competition, the judges thought she didn’t bring enough emotion to the table during her Foxtrot. But obviously she still killed the routine, so the judges offered praise for her skills as well. Simone had a fairly neutral expression on her face while receiving feedback for the routine, which prompted host Tom Bergeron to ask why she wasn’t smiling for the positive responses. Simone’s reply?
“Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”
Round of applause for Ms. Biles!
What kind of BS question was that? I hate questions like that, where individuals are cornered into a potentially awkward situation. No one should feel obligated to open up about their personal challenges on national TV if they don’t want to.
I’m not even going to necessarily flag this as a sexist question just this one time, as the hosts often ask both male and female contestants similarly dumb questions about their emotions during and after routines. But c’mon Tom. What is she supposed to say? How is anyone supposed to reply to that? I feel like the hosting by Tom and Erin has been sub-par this season, with many similarly awkward scenarios popping up. If people choose to come forward with that information, good for them. But don’t create these situations just for the potential buzz it might create. Feels cheap, honestly.
So today (and every day, tbh) we applaud Simone for holding her own.
