Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Tonya Harding might just be the most polarizing woman in America (who has nothing to do with politics). The former figure skater is dividing the country once more with her appearance on this season of Dancing with the Stars. Harding might have charmed the judges with her foxtrot last night, but twitter is full of anger over the fact that the disgraced Olympian has been allowed to compete alongside beloved athletes in the first place.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last 25 years, Tonya Harding was once a super big deal in figure skating. The two-time Olympian helped bring a ferocity to the world of ice skating, but she’s better known for the scandal surrounding Nancy Kerrigan. While it’s unclear how much Tonya Harding did or didn’t know about the conspiracy to attack and maim Kerrigan ahead of the 1994 Winter Olympics, she has been forever banned from the sport she loves. Some consider her a villain, while others look at her as a victim.
Harding’s recently popped back onto the pop culture stage thanks to the 2017 Oscar-winning film I, Tonya. The Margot Robbie movie paints Harding in a complicated way — it’s sympathetic to the classism and abuse she’s endured, while also patently unsure about the skater’s own complicity in the Kerrigan case. It’s kind of not surprising that Harding’s parlayed her recent bump in fame to a spot on this year’s mini season of Dancing With The Stars. What is surprising is the show seems to be blissfully ignorant about why so many are offended that she’s there.
Last night, Harding’s performance was hyped by the news that I, Tonya stars Allison Janney and McKenna Grace were there to cheer her on, and the video that introduced her let Harding cast herself as a misunderstood woman who had been cheated out of figure skating. Needless to say, some at home weren’t feeling it…
However, it’s not like everyone hated seeing Tonya Harding. Some were happy to see her given a second chance of glory, and touched by Janney’s show of support.
In studio, the judges were fans of Harding’s performance. She wound up with 23 points out of 30, which meant she was tied for third place with this year’s Triple Axel darling Mirai Nagasu. Still, either the show’s producers do know she’s polarizing or America really turned on her, because Harding was the last person declared safe in last night’s elimination. The suggestion being that despite her fair marks, she still needs to win over the voters at home.
Tonya Harding’s story is a strange tale that weaves together our own complex feelings about classism, abuse, violence, and sportsmanship. Is her appearance on Dancing With The Stars the tawdry mess some might have been hoping for? Not at all. She’s doing fine. But even if she manages to win it all, it doesn’t look like she’s going to win over any of her pre-existing haters with a spin on the dancefloor.
