DWTS Cast Member Says She Was Fired From the Show

Former “Dancing With the Stars” cast member Melanie Mills revealed that parting ways with the show in 2011 wasn’t her decision.

“I was fired for sure. Hello! I loved that show. I was broken-frickin’-hearted,” the former head makeup artist said on the May 20 episode of the “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.

At the time, she said, she was offered an interview with a magazine to promote her new beauty product line, Gleam. During the interview, the journalist asked Mills about season 12 competitor Kirstie Alley, she said.

Rumors had been swirling that Alley was difficult behind the scenes, but Mills said she kept things professional. She said Alley wanted significant control over her own costumes and makeup and that they did their best to accommodate her.

“‘We have no issues with her,'” she recalled telling the journalist. When the interview was published, however, Mills was quoted as calling Alley a “diva.” Mills was subsequently fired over the interview, she said.

Melanie Mills Was ‘Devastated’ After Being Fired From ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Mills said on the podcast that she was told that she shouldn’t have done the interview without a PR rep from “Dancing With the Stars.”

“I was used as a total example and was told that I knew the rules that I should never even have taken an interview without Amy. It turned into, ‘You know the rules,'” she said.

“I was devastated as if ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was my child and it just died,” Mills told podcast host Cheryl Burke. “I thought my career was over, okay? Maybe they wanted that to happen Cheryl, because let’s face it, how scripted is the show? It’s not this complete reality,” she added.

Mills said she had contacted her union and pursued suing DWTS at the time but wasn’t able to get anywhere because “we’re all just daily hires at the end of the day. Anybody can get fired for any reason as you know in this business. It’s a brutal, brutal business.”

DWTS Co-Executive Producer Deena Katz Spoke About Kirstie Alley’s Makeup Concerns

Years after Alley, who died in 2022, competed on “Dancing With the Stars,” co-executive producer Deena Katz spoke out about the show’s glam rules, so to speak.

In an interview with Glamour, Katz mentioned Alley by name.

“Women have the biggest fear [about makeup on the show], and it’s something we can’t negotiate. We are so specific on what we do. The clothes are all made for them. The hair and makeup is all done for them. But women have had this fear about [wanting] to have their own hair and makeup artists, but you can’t have that here. Our team is award-winning and fantastic,” Katz said.

“Kirstie Alley had a really hard time with it and really fought it. Now Kirstie uses our makeup artist for her. I get that fear, but they just have to take a leap with all of it. We promise they’re going to look great,” Katz added.

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