I love “Dancing with the Stars”–it’s a fun, frothy show that always ends up surprising me with some genuinely inspiring and touching moments. This year, my sentimental favorite was Marlee Matlin–the deaf Oscar-winning actress was completely undaunted by the task of learning to move to music she couldn’t hear, and was phenomenal at it. However, my favorite to win was Olympic gold medal winning ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Not only did I think she was the best dancer, she also had to cope with the fact that only one woman has ever won the show in six seasons. Soap opera star Kelly Monaco won the truncated first season (it only aired six episodes, as no one expected the show to be such a huge hit), but her victory was marred by a rematch with runner-up John O’Hurley, which he won. So when Yamaguchi was crowned the winner last night, it was a victory not just for dance fans but for women.
However, Yamaguchi’s win wasn’t the only touching moment from last night’s show. During the finale, all the season’s eliminated contestants came back to perform once more and fill the audience in on their upcoming projects. Comedian Adam Carolla, whose humor and relatability kept him in the show despite his uncoordinated dancing, was surprisingly the most heartfelt celebrity.
“This is why the terrorists hate us,” he said. “And it’s not the glitter and it’s not the pomp and circumstance. We’ve got black and white, we’ve got Hispanic and Asian, we got gay, straight, and [Steve] Guttenberg, all working together for one common goal: to get the mirror ball. And the mirror ball doesn’t care what color you are, and it doesn’t care how rich your parents are, and it doesn’t care what God you pray to. It’s an even wooden floor, and may the best man or woman win. And I say God bless Dancing with the Stars, and God bless the USA.”
Sure, he may have been kidding, but the guy kind of has a point. And Kristi Yamaguchi finally has her trophy.