Jazzhands

I lost a lot of respect for Rio in this episode, and she has been one of my favorites. Her attack on Sandra was unfair and unprovoked. It’s not Sandra’s fault if she looks like a mean girl from Rio’s high school. I’m not a fan of Sandra, but she didn’t do anything to warrant that. I’m really liking Krystyana (sp?) because she’s got such a great attitude and seems to be trying to learn and have a good time. I was sorry to see Coura go. I thought her picture tonight was lovely. I was really hoping that Christina would be leaving. Her attitude is lousy, and if she’s such a successful model, why is she on this show?

My heart was breaking for Shawnice in this episode. She was so lonely and rejected, and she got zero in the way of support from either her husband or her mother. I didn’t like her in the first couple of episodes, but I felt terrible for her tonight. I usually get a lot of fun smugness from watching this train wreck of a show and making fun of the participants, but this felt like kicking a puppy. Shawnice just looked like her spirit was breaking, and I hated myself for watching it. I’m done with this show.

I guess that’s why he’ll end up with Lauren. They’re both so dull. They remind me of the scene in “Best in Show” when Jennifer Coolidge’s character is talking about her ancient husband: ”We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.”

I agree. It looks like she lost about 10 pounds, is wearing nicely done makeup, has a better haircut, is smiling, and — probably most important— has way better lighting.

I agree with you. If you want a team full of standouts like Holly, Erica, Kalyssa, etc., you’re going to have problems with breaking rules, quitting, etc. If you want a team of girls who will be dedicated, you need more Christinas, Brennans, Taryns, Auto Amys. It’s going to be very difficult to find 36 girls like Lacey and KaShara, who have the DCC look and style and are willing to play by the rules and stick around for years. The girls today have so many more money-making opportunities today than even 10 years ago. And like someone else said earlier (sorry, I can’t remember who it was to give credit), when DCC/CMT holds out Melissa Rycroft as aspirational, this is what you end up with. She quit the team but is back as a mentor because she got famous on other reality TV shows; she’s not shunned, she’s lauded.

The team is pretty limited on consequences for breaking the contract. Specific performance of personal services contracts violates constitutional prohibitions on involuntary servitude, so you can’t make them stay on the team or perform/make appearances against their will. The team can’t sue for damages because they doesn’t actually suffer any monetary damages when a girl quits — they can either reblock the performance or use an All-Star, the same as if a teammate is injured or ill. For the same reason (lack of actual money damages), a liquidated damages provision, under which a girl would be required to pay a fee for breaking the contract, would likely be viewed as an unenforceable penalty as well as a public relations nightmare. Legally, about all the team can do is include a non-compete clause that if a cheerleader quits, she’s prohibited from cheering for another team during the term of her contract, but as a practical matter, that doesn’t happen anyway. There is a lot of turnover when employees have part-time, low-wage jobs. Pro cheerleading is more glamorous than slinging hamburgers, so you’ll certainly get a lot of girls who are willing to put up with the long hours, low pay, and strict rules for the perceived benefits. But you’ll also get girls who quit due to demands of school, work, or family obligations, as well as those like Kalyssa (assuming that what is being said about her on this board is accurate) who quit because of the opportunity costs of fulfilling their contracts.

I’m not a fan of Bekah either, but I think if you’re wearing a thong and a giant feathered headdress at the Moulin Rouge, you’ve got to lean in and go for it! As I was watching that mess tonight, I was thinking about her recent status as a missing person and how much fun it would’ve been to call some bureaucrat in California to report that the lady on the poster was half-naked on my TV.

The blondes all blur together for me ... and I am a blonde. Seriously, though, I can’t remember another season being this far along that I still can’t recognize a bunch of the contestants. This season is so dull. Ari’s date with Lauren bored me to tears until he told the story of his ex-girlfriend’s miscarriage and somehow made himself the victim of that story. No, sir, you are the villain of the piece. Ugh. He’s awful.

So I’m watching The Bachelor and reading this forum, and a commercial was just on for the Bachelor Winter Games featuring the former Miami Dolphins Cheerleader Bibiana. It made me think that maybe part of the reason that they’re having problems with getting girls to commit to DCC once they’ve made the team is that the combination of exposure these girls get from DCC:MTT coupled with the ability to monetize social media is drawing in a big percentage of girls who view DCC as a quick stop on the fame train to boost their profiles to go on to more lucrative things. If someone like Kalyssa can boost her Instagram followers she’ll get more sponsors (and get paid more per sponsored posts), and maybe she can get more modeling work or better yet get cast on a prime-time, major network show like the Bachelor with an eye toward becoming The Bachelorette, going on DTWS, etc. Lots more money to be made there, if she can make it happen, than the pittance she’s getting as a DCC. I think DCC:MTT may be a double-edged sword for the organization in the age of social media to the extent that it may keep some talented dancers from auditioning who don’t want to be on a reality show, while at the same time it’s drawing talented girls who want to use the show to raise their profiles but aren’t really dedicated to the organization.

She looks exactly like all of the other fungible contestants on The Bachelor with her hair extensions, fake tan, fake nails, and fake lashes, so I’m sure she’ll try to get on that show when she’s old enough.

I don’t think Kelli would approve.

So apparently Grey Suede is the clothing shop owned by former Bachelor contestant Raven Gates, and the website shows a bunch of DCCs modeling the outfits. Is there someplace where all of these reality-TV people meet up?

I wasn’t eye-rolling you. I was eye-rolling Meri’s absurd idea that her online legging business could cover the mortgage on a B&B.

According to a quick public records search, it looks like the sales price was $346,500. I seriously doubt that Meri’s legging sales could cover a mortgage on that. ?

There’s something about Brendi that reminds me of Elisabeth Moss — I think it’s the face shape and the wide-set eyes. I didn’t notice the resemblance before the makeover, but now it really stands out to me.

You sound like my late mother-in-law. She would’ve given my husband a kidney without a second thought but would never give him advice unless he specifically asked for it, and even then, it was always in terms for what would be best for him (and us) rather than what might have been best for her. She was an amazing woman and we both miss her. Your son’s spouse will be very fortunate, indeed.

They all look like they’re auditioning for the Real Housewives of Dallas. ?

Yep. They were on DCC:MTT (briefly), Ben’s season of The Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise, and Ben & Lauren’s Bachelor spin-off. I just read recently that they’re now getting their own Bachelor spin-off. I am very ashamed of myself for knowing this and question my life choices.

Yes.

I think Cersten looks great — completely appropriate for a workplace holiday party. Jenna looks like she’s dressed for a tacky prom.

I think part of it may have been that — and this is what I’ve read on these boards; I have no personal knowledge—Jenna/Erica/Holly had engaged in the fraternizing during the previous year and had been warned about it and they promised to stop, but they kept it up instead and then Holly, at least initially, denied it, like she took Kelli for a fool. Breaking rules is one thing. Breaking rules repeatedly and trying to pull the wool over Kelli’s eyes may be another thing entirely. Danielle may have known about what Paige was doing, but it seems like Jenna was right there fraternizing with players along with Holly. We saw a very limited and selectIvely edited portion of what actually happened in the office with Jenna. They chose to show enough to let viewers know that Jenna was in trouble; they may well have not chosen to show ALL of the reasons that she was in trouble, especially since they kept her on the team. Had Holly not bailed but taken her lumps and stayed with the team, we might have seen a very different edit of the conversation with Holly as well. MTT isn’t an objective documentary series, it’s a reality show in which Charlotte is an executive producer.

I’m still not convinced these are two separate people. ?

I completely agree with this. I also 100% believe that Arie’s not on this show to find a wife but to extend his 15 minutes of TV fame since he wasn’t able to live up to his father’s career as a race car driver. Which is great by me because I’m a Wrong Reasons Viewer™️ and I’m looking forward to some mindless fun. He’s great TV — good looking, not too bright, and apparently willing to go along with whatever the producers want, like giving the first impression rose for maximum dramatic effect to the woman being set up as the villain. He’ll play along, get paid, travel, and make out with a bunch of women who are mostly there for the same reasons. Everybody wins; nobody gets (really) hurt. I also think that Arie’s not a monster and that’s why he sent home the girl who kept talking about how her since-deceased father met him once. I also don’t think the producers cast a bunch of realtors to have something in common with Arie. First, they start the casting process for contestants long before they’ve finalized the lead, and second, there are always a bunch of realtors because that’s the kind of job that a potential contestant can leave for months at a time to go appear on a reality show. The goal of this show isn’t to find the lead a spouse — it’s to make good TV that drives eyeballs to the screen for advertising dollars, and the savvy participants know EXACTLY what the score is.

I wish Jenna all the best. She isn’t my favorite DCC, but she’s a talented dancer and has put a lot of time and effort into DCC over the past six years. She’s certainly made mistakes, but I did at her age as well — and I thank God that I didn’t have a TV crew following me around in my teens and early twenties to document them for posterity.

Exective VP and Chief Brand Officer of Dallas Cowboys organization as well as President of DCC, per her bio page on the Cowboys’ website. I can’t figure out how to attach the link — sorry.