DWTS Season 11 Cast Rumor – Nastia Liukin
The rumor about Nastia has been floating around for a few seasons now. This time it’s Nastia doing the talking, to Access Hollywood:
In related Nastia news, the gymnast said she hasn’t decided yet whether she’s going to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but if “Dancing with the Stars” came around, she might be interested in that opportunity.
“It’s a great show and I think it’s fun to be able to go outside of your element and do something that you have no idea what you’re doing,” she laughed. “A lot of people think the Olympians have an advantage with ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and I think that the only advantage that they have is to be able perform in front of a live audience.
“Everything else is so out of your element,” she continued. “I’ve never taken a dance class in my life.”
Sounds like she’s already trying to fight the ringer label. 🙂
Not a fan of her gymnastics but she would do well on the show. Valeri (her dad and coach) probably wouldn’t be happy with her doing the show. I don’t think it’d help her if she wanted to go for 2012. She’s got a long road ahead of her especially with the huge crop of talented girls making a run for the 6 spots.
This would not surprise me at all. I guessed this the night of the finale when I saw pics of her with the Lysacek family in the ballroom and wrap party. She already knew Evan immediately had to leave for NY so I figured she was there networking for herself rather than supporting her friend. She even posted a tweet the following day about the interesting people she had met that night.
Heather, I don’t know about that… She and Evan dated briefly (some reports they’re back together but I don’t buy it) and are good friends. She was also in L.A. right then to support him but also was doing a Clinic in conjunction with UCLA as she’s a big fan of their coach.
Maybe she was doing both…if she knew she was going to be in town for the clinic, it couldn’t hurt to do a little networking at the finale while she was at it – especially given her high level of interest in doing the show. I don’t think it’s a stretch, Katrina.
Anywho, I just am altogether apathetic right now about Olympians who may or may not be doing the show…I guess because I’m not a huge fan of any of the ones that there have been murmurings about, and the fact that Olympians seem to be getting instant ringer status on the show. If I have to have the ringer debate with one more person who doesn’t think Olympians have an edge on the show, I very well might puke.
Same here, Courtney. So tired of the “Poor pitiful Evan who didn’t know how to dance..had no advantage…blah blah.” Puh-lease. I was just watching Adam Carolla’s bit from DWTS where he called out Evan for obviously knowing how to spin. Hilarious.
I agree all Olympians, and all atheletes really, have an advantage. But I don’t think Nastia has as big of an advantage skill-wise as Evan (and Kristi) did. Obviously their spinning expertise and lines and grace from skating were greatly beneficial on DWTS. The biggest advantage Olympians usually have is the fanbase they bring with them, but again, I don’t think Nastia has near the fanbase Evan or Shawn did. She won’t have the good fortune like them of doing the show directly after the Olympics when popularity and exposure is at an all time high. Plus, her personality is not as warm and instantly likeable as Shawn’s.
So while I agree she will have advantages, I don’t think they will be near as great as the other Olympians I mentioned. She will maybe be more on par with the NFL players. So probably guaranteed at least a 4th place finish, but not necessarily the finals or the win, depending on how popular the other contestants are, and how Nastia’s personality comes across to viewers.
Katrina–I agree they are friends but not sure how close anymore, especially after the People magazine story after the Olympics. If you follow Nastia’s tweets, she is also in LA fairly often and you don’t see many paps photos of her with Evan yet you see him with other folks, particularly DWTS folks.
Anyway, my point is that it would not surprise me to see Nastia on the show. I think the wrap party would have been a perfect place for someone looking to get on the show to meet the folks influencing that decision.
Heather, I’m not a fan of Nastia so I don’t follow her tweets but I do know that 🙂
Frankly If they’re going to have another Olympian why not somebody like Jennie Finch (Softball Player) or a male gymnast like Bart Conner.
Two things that helps Olympians on this show is that they know how to train and they know their body.
DJ I completely agree with you. The Gymnastics community is very very divided on Nastia in terms of her personality and how she comes across (and to some extent how much she’s over scored but I’m ranting ;)) Frankly, as much I think she would do well at dances like Waltz, Foxtrot, maybe Argentine Tango, but I think she’d have a hard time doing many of the Latin dances.
Don’t forget – what pro she has could make a huge difference. I think Natalie would have gone farther with just about anyone other than Alec, for example.
I’m interested in this rumor in particular because I expect Nastia to be on the show either this season, or one in the future. This isn’t the first time she’s said she wanted to do it. She hinted at it last season. I knew they would get Evan on the show and really expected Nastia to be on with him – you know how they love the romance angle. ABC asked Nastia to be on the show in S8 and only after she refused, did they invite Shawn. So the show apparently likes her.
So which pro she would get is an interesting question because you are right, it makes ALL the difference. The thing is Derek or Mark would be the most logical choice for her based on age and height. But I don’t think the show will give her to either of them. Although Derek is past due for an athlete, I don’t think he will get Nastia after having Nicole (if he is on the show at all) And I can’t imagine them giving Nastia to Mark after him having Shawn (but I also never imagined them giving Mark another guaranteed Olympian winner in Shawn after having Kristi, so what do I know) But I don’t think Nastia would really want Mark either, there would be too many comparisons to Shawn’s run on the show, which she will already have to deal with enough. Maks, Tony,Dmitry are too tall. So it really leaves Louis or Damian who don’t seem like the best matches for Nastia to me. I can actually see her requesting Derek, but Oh God at the drama if that happened!!
You’re right, DJ – the drama would be AMAZING, if Nastia were to do the show and partnered with Derek. Mark, for some reason, continually gets a pass. Perhaps because without an Olympian he often doesn’t get as far? It’s not like he’s saddled with complete duds either – he gets people similar to what Derek has gotten – it’s just that they’ve turned out to be not great, for whatever reason. Luck of the draw?
Anyway, part of me wants to see Nastia with Derek just for the knashing of teeth and the screams of outrage. 🙂 I’m SO weird like that. I am torn on if the producers would actually do that – they have to love the Emmy nominations that his dancing with Nicole produced (he probably would have had more if the AT and 50’s Paso weren’t danced so late in the season) and I actually think they LOVE drama. So it’s really hard to say. Once upon a time I would have said that they don’t think about the pros overly much, but I doubt very much that is true anymore. Not when some of these pros have bigger fanbases than some of the celebs. So are they not going to worry about the relative minority who are very loud, or are they going to make sure that the popular pros have celebs more likely to stick around to help keep the ratings boosted?
It’s an interesting question, and one I’m not sure of either. I tend to think they value Derek’s longevity during the season too much to ever give him an obvious dud. But I’m doubtful of them giving him someone who will inevitably get a “ringer” label directly after his winning season with Nicole. And personally, I don’t particulary want the “Mark got Shawn the win, but Derek couldn’t get it for Nastia” crap if it happened, when Shawn is twice as popular as Nastia going in. And they just don’t give Derek “great on paper” partners anyway. He gets the relatively unknown or unpopular, but hot, girls. No one else has been on the show for as long as Derek and never been given an athlete. He got Nicole because she asked for him. If they really wanted Nastia badly, they would probably give her whatever pro she wanted. But I don’t know if Nastia has the pull or popularity at this point in her career to make those demands.
I haven’t heard any rumblings about Audrina Patridge, but I was kinda expecting her to turn up this season. E! reported they really wanted her for S9, but MTV refused to work with her on The Hills filming schedule to allow it. I know DWTS also interviewed Brody Jenner from The Hills, so they seem to really want to tap into that demo. The Hills just ended, so Audrina would be free now to do it. Anyway, Audrina seems like a partner Derek would get. She’s his age, hot, and they would bring in the younger demo the show wants. She should be in shape and capable, but will have no ringer label and will be relatively unknown with the typical voting demo of the show. She’s the type I see Derek getting after the Nicole season – someone with potential but no guarantees or easy road – it could go either way. Basically the exact same type as all of Derek’s past partners outside of Nicole. Oops, sorry to hijack Nastia’s thread to talk to you about random ideas for Derek’s partners. I need to get back to PDH I guess!!
[…] swimmer Greg Louganis, who has been trying to get on the show for several seasons now, or gymnast Nastia Liukin – a teammate of Shawn Johnson’s & an alleged former flame of […]