The Untold Truth Of The Season 24 Cast Of Dancing With The Stars
The 24th season of Dancing with the Stars was filled with smooth moves, wacky costumes, and a whole lot of B-list nostalgia, but how well do you really know the competitors? Here are a few fun facts that might help you win points at your next trivia night.
Simone Biles
Four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles continued a long tradition of Olympians competing on Dancing with the Stars. However, if it weren't for a chance day, Biles might never have become a gymnast in the first place. Per NBC Olympics, a field trip to a gym is what ultimately triggered her passion for all-things gymnastics. Then 6 years old, Biles reportedly saw older girls doing flips and twists and decided to start copying them. Soon after, she began training. The rest, as we all know now, is history.
Nancy Kerrigan
Speaking of Olympians: silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan capitalized on America's rediscovered obsession with the figure skating scandal that left Kerrigan with a busted knee and made Tonya Harding an infamous media villain. TMZ tracked Kerrigan down to get her thoughts on the upcoming movie I, Tonya, in which Margot Robbie will play Kerrigan's former rival. In the quickie interview, Kerrigan claims that nobody consulted her about the film and she doesn't plan to see it when it hits theaters in 2018. That's not exactly shocking, considering she's stayed pretty quiet about the scandal over the last few decades. TMZ added that Kerrigan's team actually tried and failed to get its hands on a copy of the film's script to see how Kerrigan would be portrayed.
Heather Morris
The addition of Heather Morris to the Season 24 cast left some wondering if she'd have an unfair advantage. That's because the former Glee star spent a year and a half serving as a backup dancer to the one and only Queen Bey. Morris was one of the "single ladies!" She also made a prior appearance on So You Think You Can Dance. When she was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Billboard wrote, "This combination is going to be tough to beat."
Charo
Like Cher and Madonna, Charo is known to the public on a first-name basis, but her birth name is a heckuva lot longer. According to People, Charo was born María del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martínez Molina Baez, although when exactly she was born has been up for debate for decades. It's a beautiful name, but yeah, Tom Bergeron is probably happy to just introduce her as "Charo."
Bonner Bolton
Bonner Bolton is the arguably least well-known of the 2017 DWTS contestants. (No, he's not the son of singer Michael Bolton.) The professional bull rider has a unique resume—not to mention an insane life story that includes one brush with death. According to People, Bolton, who won his first world title at the age of 20, was left temporarily paralyzed from the neck down in January 2016 after a bull bucked and tossed him onto his head. People reported that he suffered a broken C-2 vertebrae that required spinal fusion surgery. Doctors also inserted a metal frame around his vertebra.
Mr. T
We pity the fool who had to dance against Mr. T and his partner! All jokes aside, the former A-Team star told TMZ he "ain't worried about nothing" and "don't need no luck" for the show. Perhaps he's not worried because he was a former bodyguard.
The Richest wrote that, back in the day, Mr. T decided to become a bouncer to earn a steady income after his football career ended and he didn't want to go back into the military. He ended up working for celebrities, including Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Muhammad Ali. He reportedly earned up to $10,000 a day from his wealthy clients.
Normani Kordei
As one of the four remaining members of the girl group Fifth Harmony, Normani Kordei is used to being beloved and adored by her millions of fans, but life in the spotlight hasn't always been easy for the talented youngster. In 2016, the 20-year-old singer was subjected to headline-making attacks on social media, prompting famous friends such as Zendaya, Keke Palmer, JoJo, and Gina Rodriguez to publish messages of support.
Kordei's bandmates also tried to combat the horrific cyberbullying. Fellow Fifth Harmony member Dinah Jane Hansen tweeted, "Do not take your time to hate. Take your time to love. It will always go farther." Preach!
David Ross
World Series Champion David Ross seems to have already grown bored in retirement. Not only did the former backup catcher for the Chicago Cubs sign on for DWTS, he also began working as a special assistant to the Cubs. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ross plans to study scouting and player development, as well as take notes from the Cubs' front office. "It's a lot of me listening, taking in different parts of the organization, things I don't know anything about. Get some background on what it takes to run an organization," Ross told the Chicago Tribune.
Rashad Jennings
Giants running back Rashad Jennings is part of a long list of athletes who've appeared on DWTS. Jennings seems to be one of the more political contestants as well. In response to whether or not he'd run for president, Jennings told the New York Post: "Some people that don't know me may say I'm disrespectful and not respecting that hard road it takes to actually be in politics and actually run for president. But my answer is yes, I've thought about that before."
Jennings would want to run on changing the education system and the health of Americans. Jennings thinks he'd be an effective leader "because leaders understand, firstly you serve." "On a smaller scale, you take principalities of taking a role and being a servant as an NFL player rep, understanding the call of duty, who you serve and why you're there, and what your promises are to your men," he said. "And I think it's a great, awesome responsibility to do that."
Chris Kattan
He's known for making millions of people laugh on Saturday Night Live, but Chris Kattan's post-SNL career hasn't exactly been, you know, funny. TMZ reported in May 2015 that Kattan had to be escorted from Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport for "jittery behavior." Kattan was reportedly seen mumbling and walking around the gate until officers came to remove him, according to reports. Kattan was cooperative and later told the police he had an Ambien earlier that day and it was still in his system.
That incident wasn't the first time Kattan got into legal trouble; in 2014 he was sentenced to three years probation for reportedly ramming his Mercedes into a parked car while under the influence of Ambien.
Nick Viall
Nick Viall seems totally at ease living with a whole bunch of ladies on his season of The Bachelor. That might be because he grew up in a huge family. Viall is one of 11 siblings—he has six sisters and four brothers. His parents reportedly met at church, married in their 20s, and immediately began working on building their brood. Viall is the second oldest.
Erika Jayne
Erika Jayne, aka The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Erika Girardi, danced with Gleb Savchenko in Season 24. The reality star has an interesting past as a member of various girl groups, garnering her first brush with fame as an 18-year-old New York City transplant. She eventually launched her own solo career, including the 2009 album, Pretty Mess, which featured six no. 1 singles.