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Fans of Boy Meets World were thrilled to hear that Danielle Fishel is set to join the cast of Dancing With The Stars for its 34th season. Paired with professional dancer Pasha Pashkov, Fishel has quickly emerged as a formidable contender on the reality show, challenging the competition with their impressive performances.
Off-stage, however, Danielle is grappling with significant pressure as she steps into the spotlight once again. In a candid discussion this past week, she shared her experience of being back in the public eye at this stage in her life.
Before the show’s rock and roll-themed night, Danielle opened up on her podcast about the mental hurdles the competition has presented. She revealed that she and her partner chose Aerosmith’s “Dream On” for their performance, as its lyrics resonate with the struggles of being a woman in a society that often sends mixed messages about being both “too much” and “never enough.”
Danielle Says The Show Triggers Her Disordered Eating
Ahead of the show’s rock and roll night, Danielle got real on an episode of her podcast, opening up about the mental challenges the show was putting her through. She explained that she and Pasha chose the song “Dream On” by Aerosmith because of the message it carried, one about “how difficult it can be to be a woman in society where we are somehow always too much and also never enough.”
Danielle elaborated on what that theme brought up for her personally:
If you get botox and fillers then you’re not aging gracefully, and if you age gracefully, then you look old and ugly. And if you are too thin, you’re told to eat a burger and if you gain weight, you’re told to get off the couch. There’s no winning, and having been in the public eye and on TV since I was ten years old, I have been under a microscope, and my choices have been scrutinized. I’ve made terrible mistakes… And I’m resistant to it because it’s triggering so many things in me.
Danielle continued to be quite vulnerable throughout the episode, sharing that preparing to be onstage for DWTS had encouraged “a lot of negative self-talk” that she was still trying to battle. There were some days when the pressure she put on herself was so bad that she said she didn’t want to keep going in the competition at all.
Danielle Got Encouragement From A Former DWTS Pro
Luckily, that same week, Danielle got some reassurance from a season DWTS participant. Former dance pro Louis van Amstel was her guest on the podcast and offered some sage words of advice. He advised her to look out for her mental well-being first and foremost, which included staying away from social media reactions as much as possible.
Louis also said that Danielle should simply focus on her dance experience, noting that she was already very well liked and that her perception by viewers was not an issue at all:
Everyone knows you have grown from Week 1 to now, leaps and bounds, and you have the likability factor. And you have no problem with the character of the dance. Regardless of who is in your team, the only thing you can control is your movements, the involvement in the movements, listening to the music and doing your part.
“You’re a kind person. It resonates, you can tell through the screen. You’re a kind person, the relationship you have with Pasha,” he assured her. “I would say, ‘F kind.’ Go for it.”
