“Don’t Care”: Olympic Gymnastics Star Makes a Strange Confession Involving DWTS

What happens when an Olympic gymnastics champion steps into the glitzy world of ballroom dancing and admits they’re not sweating the outcome? For a 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist, Nastia Liukin, her Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) experience in Season 20 was a refreshing departure from the high-stakes pressure of gymnastics. For someone who clinched five medals in Beijing, including a gold with a 16.725 balance beam score, the DWTS’s ‘don’t care’ attitude was strange and freeing at the same time.

But her carefree attitude aligns with a broader truth about DWTS. The show doesn’t care about contestants’ personal lives or past achievements. It treats everyone the same, from Olympic stars to reality TV personalities, leveling the playing field in a way, which is humbling and liberating.

The special thing about DWTS is that it judges only ballroom dancing skills, ignoring fame or any outside issues. All-around gold medal winner, five-time medalist, and cultural symbol Nastia Liukin spoke with David Vobora on his podcast Life After with David Vobora about her outstanding experience at Dancing With The Stars.

She said, “We all sort of like not laugh but it’s it was so accurate they were like we don’t care how many medals you won we don’t care how many trophies you have how many Grammys you have how many Oscars you have. They were like, do the work you’re all here for a reason and we’re all one now.“

For Liukin, having her Olympic legacy matching teammate Shawn Johnson for most medals by an American gymnast in one Olympics—didn’t grant her automatic immunity. Liukin, dancing with professional partner Derek Hough, needed to conform to the ballroom’s requirements along with every other contestant, despite her gymnastics-forged poise.

The judges—Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli during Liukin’s season—never modulate their criticisms regarding a contestant’s popularity or background. An EW 2011 recap of DWTS referenced the show’s emphasis on dance rather than storytelling, with contestants such as Kendra Wilkinson and Chris Jericho having to perform personal narratives via dance but only being judged based on how they executed them.

For Liukin, this translated into her Olympic success being moot when she got onto the dance floor. Being sent home in the semifinals after scoring perfect tens for her quickstep and Viennese Waltz with Hough, as cited by ABC News, revealed that DWTS expects the same of everyone. And weekly eliminations based on judges’ marks and votes from viewers—don’t curve for anyone, even a gymnastics icon.

Liukin’s experience also serves to show how DWTS strips the protective bubble of an athlete’s past away. Her perfectionist nature had to step back on DWTS. On DWTS, she encountered new obstacles, such as Hough’s injury, which compelled her to dance with Sasha Farber on some routines. The Season 20 finale opening dance highlighted her versatility, as she danced with the cast with the same poise that characterized her gymnastics career.

But DWTS was not interested in her previous struggles or victories—it required her to prove herself all over again, just like all the other contestants.

A Legacy of Olympic Gymnastics on DWTS: From Shawn Johnson to Suni Lee

Liukin wasn’t the initial gymnast to encounter DWTS’s unbiased stage, nor was she the last. The program has a storied history of hosting Olympic gymnasts, every one bringing his or her flair as they deal with the same obstacles. Several gymnasts have competed throughout the years, with mixed success. Shawn Johnson, Liukin’s 2008 Olympic teammate, took Season 8 in 2009 with pro-Mark Ballas, the first gymnast to win the mirror ball trophy.

Johnson was back for the All-Stars season in 2012, finishing second, demonstrating her dance floor skills. Her competitiveness characterized her training, in contrast to Liukin’s more laid-back style. However, she also had to learn to accommodate DWTS’s demanding regimen, as evidenced in a YouTube montage of her routines.

Aly Raisman, a member of the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gymnastics squads, danced in Season 16, as well as with Mark Ballas, and placed fourth. Raisman’s experiences were bittersweet—she had dedicated dances to Boston Marathon bombing victims, an event that took place during her season—but DWTS graded her on her technique, not her touching narratives, as revealed in Entertainment Tonight recaps.

Simone Biles, the all-time most decorated U.S. gymnast with 11 Olympic medals, competed in Season 24 in 2017 with Sasha Farber. Even with high marks, she finished fourth, with judges sometimes criticizing her for a lack of emotional engagement, according to People. Biles has since said the experience was a learning experience, demonstrating how DWTS challenges even the best athletes beyond their comfort level.

Mary Lou Retton, the all-around Olympic gymnastics champion from 1984, appeared on Season 27 with Farber but was sent home in fifth place. Retton announced her divorce at her departure interview, a private moment DWTS did not include in its assessment, according to People.

Suni Lee, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist, appeared on Season 30 in 2021 with Farber and reached the semifinals, finishing fifth. Lee, who employed her gymnast agility to excel, said to People that she was “more than pleased” with her experience, even though she didn’t make it to the finale. All the gymnasts were subjected to the same unbiased judging, with DWTS valuing their dance ability over their Olympic legacies.

Although uncharacteristic of a perfectionist, Liukin’s “don’t care” admission represents the independence DWTS presents to its participants. Despite not winning Dancing With the Stars, her participation was a personal victory; she found joy in the present, even in a world unconcerned with her past.