Victoria Kalina’s exit from DCC didn’t mean there would be a lack of mother-daughter content (and conflict) on season 2 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Viewers followed Dayton Bramhall, the daughter of former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and current associate choreographer and event coordinator Shelly Bramhall, when the show returned on Wednesday, June 18. The 2024-25 season marked Dayton’s second time trying out for the squad — when she got cut the last time, there was some residual damage done between Shelly and DCC director Kelli Finglass.
“It has been tricky to navigate,” Kelli told Us Weekly in an interview when asked about the similarities between Victoria and her mom, Tina, and Dayton and Shelly. “Nothing would’ve changed the decisions on who made the team, but, yes, I think there’s a little scar tissue from Victoria and Tina — just us seeing a friend and a friend’s daughter and the emotion in their own homes that we may not normally see was hard for us to watch as well.”
During season 1, Victoria suggested that Kelli was extra hard on her in order to avoid allegations of favoritism that stemmed from Kelli and Tina’s close friendship. While Victoria didn’t get cut from the squad, she was never put in a leadership position and felt like she was critiqued harder.
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“In Dayton’s case, she came back, she tried hard and it was a competitive year and she wasn’t in the top 36, so we had to make that decision. It’s not easy to share that message,” Kelli continued. “She made it to training camp and we would only hope for the best for her. Training camp is where she started getting a little overwhelmed, but she made it to training camp fair and square on her own. So I’m proud of her for that.”
While Shelly suggested on the Netflix show that Kelli and choreographer Judy Trammell should’ve told her any updates about Dayton’s status on the squad directly, Kelli disagreed
“The relationship that we have with Shelly is personal and professional, and we’ve all stayed professional about it,” Kelli told Us, calling it a matter of “integrity.”
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Kelli explained, “We don’t call moms first on anybody auditioning. It’s a professional audition. There are HR considerations. We just wouldn’t. I heard Shelly say that and it makes sense to her, but it wouldn’t have been how I would’ve handled it.”
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is streaming on Netflix.
