Dancing with the Stars contestant Ciara Miller recently opened up about her time on the show and how producers portrayed her. Her comments have given fans more insight into her experience before her elimination. Read on to find out more.
A Focus on Past Drama
Following her elimination from Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, Ciara Miller discussed her frustration with how the show portrayed her. The reality TV star sat down with her pro partner Brandon Armstrong on the Official DWTS podcast to address her experience.
She explained that while viewers know her from Bravo, she wished producers had highlighted more of her actual background instead of dwelling on a recent Summer House relationship scandal.
If you aren’t familiar, Miller spent nearly seven years appearing on reality TV. During that run, she found herself swept up in cast drama involving her friend group, including Amanda Batula and West Wilson.
More Than a Scandal
On Thursday on the podcast, she spoke about how being framed around recent drama impacted her run. She said that she has grown up on television since age 24.
According to EW, “I have, kind of, grown up on TV in a way and gone through some really essential years,” Ciara said, adding, “So, I think, I’m so much more than what happened in this past year [than] a betrayal of friendship.”
She worked as an ICU nurse for six years, moved to New York at 25, appeared on The Traitors, and hosted Love Island: Aftersun.
“In my sphere, I’m trying to pave the way for girls that look like me aside from, like, the scandal,” she insisted, adding, “So I wish that was maybe mentioned more.”
Real Character Behind the Screen
Brandon Armstrong explained on the podcast that Ciara “has made a name, created a space for herself on a reality TV show, in a field that, maybe, doesn’t require or you don’t get to show off a lot of depth of character.”
He continued by explaining that “within the first week, I very quickly realized how thoughtful she is, and how thoughtful she is about things that are very important in life.”
During the interview, Armstrong said he wished fans could see past the superficial reality format. He added that she “deserves better out of this process because of her character.”
Drowning Out the Outside Noise
The duo discussed how she struggled with self-doubt, and how working together was a helpful process. Miller admitted she felt tears coming as she praised Armstrong’s patience with her anxiety.
She shared that “having a guy show up week after week” to support her felt like “everything I needed, right on time.”
Currently, she wants to take what she learned on the dance floor and apply it to her normal life. Simply put, she wants to focus on “drowning out the noise and focusing on the task at hand.”
Viewers React
Meanwhile, fans on Reddit debated whether Ciara deserved to leave the competition so early, with opinions divided over her dancing ability and the voting process.
One of them could empathize with the voting mechanics.
They wrote: “Why do y’all talk like the producers are the ones who eliminate contestants? Contestants get eliminated due to having the lowest combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. She just didn’t get enough votes.”
Like that user, others looked at her dancing growth over four weeks. They said, “Y’all..she’s better than when she started but she is easily one of the weakest dancers this season. I was surprised she made it past the first week tbh.”
Then they acknowledged her effort on the floor, saying, “What an amazing job Ciara, and looked great and carefree while doing so.”
Another viewer commented on her early exit, wishing she had stayed longer. They wrote, “I would have loved to see her stick around for at least 3 more weeks.”
Others felt sad to see her leave, and someone commented, “Sad to see her go. She should be proud of her hard work.”
What are your thoughts on Ciara Miller’s comments about reality TV editing and her time on DWTS? Join the discussion below, and then come back here for more Dancing with the Stars news and updates.