Danielle Fishel thought it was “interesting” Andy Richter and partner Emma Slater went home during the Dancing With the Stars 20th anniversary episode.
“Of all the nights, I thought tonight was the most impressive night Andy had since he held the camera in his hand, when everybody fell in love with him,” Fishel, 44, shared during the Wednesday, November 12, episode of her DWTS recap, released under the “Pod Meets World” podcast umbrella.
Fishel admitted to being skeptical about Richter and Slater’s routine after hearing he was going to perform a quickstep. (The dance was set to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Robbie Williams and received a 29 out of 40.)
“I know Andy struggles with his knees,” she added. “He recently had just posted [that] he had a bunch of fluid drained from his knee.”
‘DWTS’ Had an Epic 20th Birthday Party — But Who Went Home at the End?
Fishel assumed the dance wouldn’t “be that quick” and wouldn’t have “that many steps” — but she was surprised.
“I thought it had significantly more content than I thought it was going to and there were times that he really moved. I was impressed,” she continued.
Fishel then praised Slater for being a “marketing genius” by getting DWTS viewers to focus on Richter during the episode’s relay dance.
“Kaitlyn Bristowe ripping open his shirt and having those abs under there, that T-shirt. I thought, ‘Wow, if there were however many people voting for Andy before they are having an influx of phone calls, of votes and texts,’” she added. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was somehow surprised that Andy went home tonight.”
Fishel competed against Richter on this season of DWTS alongside partner Pasha Pashkov but was eliminated during the November 4 episode. Fishel wrote in a subsequent Instagram post that she had “such a wide range of emotions” about leaving the competition.
DWTS’ Emma Slater Defends Andy Richter: He Deserves to Stay in Competition
Days after being sent home, Fishel spoke candidly about her elimination, airing one major grievance. She danced to “Dream On” by Aerosmith that night and created a backstory for the performance, but the audience never got to hear it.
“Our story is about the impossible standards placed on women both from society and from ourselves. If we pursue work outside the home and have a family, we’re told that we should be with our kids more,” she explained. “If we stay home, we’re told we don’t work and are uninteresting. If we’re too thin, we’re told to eat a burger and if we gain weight, we’re told to get off the couch.”
Fishel added, “When we get Botox or fillers, we’re accused of not aging gracefully and when we age naturally, we’re called old and ugly.”
However, the Boy Meets World alum wanted to focus the routine on “living out your dreams,” especially after her 2024 breast cancer diagnosis.
“When we were on the ballroom floor, I was like, listening to my package and I was like … none of that was even mentioned, like, none of my story was even in the package,” she added. “Those are just things that are completely out of our control.”
