Mischa Barton Says Viewers Aren’t Seeing Her Whole Story On ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Mischa Barton has looked a bit depressed — or dare we say “sedated?” — on Dancing with the Stars, but the former O.C. star says viewers aren’t seeing what’s going on behind the scenes. In an interview with TV Guide, Mischa said viewers haven’t been getting the full story when they see her intro packages on the celebrity ballroom competition.
While she has landed near the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard for both weeks of DWTS so far (Mischa earned 15 out of 30 points last week, one point less than her DWTS debut week), the 30-year-old actress said the intros only show a small piece of what’s really going on.
“That wasn’t really represented, but it’s really fun,” Mischa said. “That’s not the angle you ended up seeing. I’m loving it.”
Good Morning it's show day #DWTS looking at the work week so much fun with @artemchigvintse and Ziggy ? @DancingABC pic.twitter.com/yVGsHZpQSK
— Mischa Barton (@MischaBarton) April 4, 2016
During last week’s intro, Mischa’s pro partner Artem Chigvintsev said he felt like Mischa was being her own enemy. And on the DWTS premiere, judge Bruno Tonioli described Barton as appearing “sedated,” while Len Goodman slammed her and said what she was doing was out there was not dancing. Barton appeared on the verge of tears after she got the judges’ commentary and her low scores.
Unlike some of her DWTS competitors, Mischa Barton is not an athlete, and she has had no formal dance training. Amazingly, Barton also told TV Guide she knew very little about the celeb dance-off, which is currently in its 22nd season, before she signed on for it. But she says she is having a blast now.
“I’m just getting hip to the game. Once you get a certain level of knowledge, you can really start to enjoy it. In the beginning, it can be really stressful, but we’re really having fun now. Everyone learns at their own pace…We have a blast in studio. People just don’t see what a great time we’re having.”
That’s for sure. Already, Mischa Barton has come off as one of the most polarizing contestants ever to compete on the show. While she survived elimination last week due to Geraldo Rivera’s admitted ineptitude on the dance floor, Mischa may not be so lucky this week.
In addition to the fact that the show’s lowest scoring contestant is now gone, there are reports that Mischa has been “a nightmare” to work with on DWTS. A show source told Radar Online that Mischa has been rude to DWTS staff employees, who describe the actress as “the most self-entitled and rude celebrity that the employees of the show have ever had to work with.”
Barton reportedly didn’t even hug Geraldo when he was booted from the show last week, and the general consensus is that she doesn’t really want to be on Dancing with the Stars and just wants to “take the money and run.”
Still, Mischa Barton will have another chance to impress the judges and the viewers with her dance this week. The DWTS theme is Most Memorable Year of Their Lives, so Barton will pay tribute to an important year in her life, and if it’s poignant enough, it could impress the fans.
Barton and Chigvintsev will dance the samba to the 2009 Miley Cyrus song “Party in the USA,” so it will be interesting to find out what event in her life she will commemorate. But unfortunately for Mischa, she could dance a perfect-scoring samba this week and it may not matter, because this week’s already-doomed contestant will be eliminated based on last week’s scores.
Take a look at the video below to see Mischa Barton’s poorly received tango from the Dancing with the Stars Season 22 premiere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7U2SFaXHUM
[Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for Paul Wilmot]
