“In 1997 I met Ellen DeGeneres at the Vanity Fair party, and that was the night that changed my life forever,” said Anne Heche, getting candid on “Dancing with the Stars” about her relationship with the then-sitcom star whose public coming out caused a firestorm but ultimately advanced LGBTQ visibility in entertainment. But Heche paid a heavy price for her openness.
“I was told, if I took Ellen [as my date to the ‘Volcano’ premiere], I would lose my Fox contract.” She did it anyway, and she was ushered out by security before the movie ended and was even uninvited from her own after-party. “The stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that … I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years.” That struggle inspired her week four paso doble to Katy Perry‘s “Rise” in a rainbow-colored costume. Watch it above, and see what the judges had to say about her performance below.
Derek Hough: “When you rise above the storm you will always find sunshine, and in this case a beautiful rainbow. You felt so much more sturdy, so much more on your feet, so much more in control. I loved the beginning with the paso wrist. I was like, come on, girl! I see you! Nice intro. It makes me so happy to see progress each week from all the couples so far tonight, so great job.”
Bruno Tonioli: “My darling, first let me say, I really admire you for what you did. Very few people have the courage to do what you did. Anyway, I have to judge, and I’m telling you, the multi-colored warrior is strong and proud and stands for what she believes. It was the most focused performance to date. A couple of stumbles — you still have a little problem with balance — but I’m telling you, keep focused, keep at it.”
Carrie Ann Inaba: “I just love you. Watching you is inspiring me on so many levels. You’re a bright light, but also you are so powerful. You fought for every single step in that paso. There were more opportunities for you to slip, I could tell you were on the edge, but that’s what makes a winner. You don’t give up, we don’t give up rooting for you. You still have stuff to learn, but I’m rooting for you and I think everyone else is rooting for you. Keep at it, well done.”
Heche’s routine greatly improved on her previous scores. She received 7s across the board for a total of 21 out of 30. Unfortunately, that still left her at the bottom of the leaderboard, tied with Jeannie Mai, Nelly and Jesse Metcalfe. And when viewer votes were added in she finished in the bottom two with Monica Aldama. Since Aldama had higher scores on Monday night and cumulatively throughout the season, it wasn’t too surprising that the judges chose to save her and eliminate Heche, but Heche nevertheless went out on a high note. Vote in our poll below to let us know who gave the best performance on this week’s show.
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