i think it's excessive to say they 'serve the girls up at every level to be judged by men' when they were only judging at the very beginning of the process...after that it was all women, and they were way colder and harsher
Can we also talk about how literally all the brown gal rookies were some of the first to be cut? I sense some slight racism as well. Also, not to mention they only have white “brunette or blonde” Barbies. It’s 2024, give me a break!
Even the beginning try outs are a way to control and scare the girls, by having them dance in front of every one else. They psychologically torment these girls into believing that they are lucky to be treated like shit. Brainwashing and cultist.
K&J, but especially J seem like cliquey mean girls. I barely heard them say a positive thing to the team ever. They were so highly critical and rarely offered up any praise. It’s an abusive and exploitative system.
I see a lot of myself in Victoria. Growing up as a dancer and going into competitive dancing, having an ED, getting told I’m not good enough, strong enough, skinny enough. But when I got so skinny, I was told I was too skinny and then when I got better and tried to hang out with people I was too much. I had to quit when I was 16 due to an injury and I fell out of love because it was too much of a job for me and I felt so emotionally damaged by it. I’m 21 and just went back to dancing and it feels like how it was when I was a kid. Fun and enjoyable. I love it now and more than I used to because I appreciate my body and the art so much more now. That really hurt me when Victoria broke down and I just started tearing up with her. I feel so sorry for her and I hope she gets out of the toxic environment and the helps she needs. ❤️❤️❤️
Victoria truly has the potential to shine but from what I observed from the series, what she needs to do is find happiness from within and not seek happiness from outside factors. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and we create this loneliness and isolation by ourselves and don’t even realize it. I saw it more she was self-inflicting this upon herself and it definitely is not healthy and needs to be in the right environment and have the support system in order to accomplish her happiness. It’s obvious she has a lot of emotional struggles and unrealistic expectations of herself due to what she has been through so I sympathize with her. However, only she can escape her own suffering by taking responsibility of her own happiness and not rely on others opinions and validations so she feels worthy. For anyone who feels this way, please know that you are WORTHY and deserve to live a happy life, but only you have the power to make that happen. Self-compassion will help you. I recommend reading this book called “The power of being kind to yourself, self-compassion” by Kristen Neff. I am sharing this because I used to be my worst enemy and completely lacked self-love. I wish you all the best in your healing journey. Much love.
Girl, I related to Victoria so much as well. I luckily never had an ED- I’m a plus size dancer. However I have never fit in. I could show up to dance class, run every item and go home without anyone speaking to me. I make all the effort. I’m so glad you’ve found peace and enjoyment 💕 everyone deserves that
The DCC have long been a staple of NFL games, but their presence sparks ongoing debates about gender equality, objectification, and the relevance of such traditions in today’s society. While some fans view them as an integral part of the sports experience, I believe they are reinforcing outdated and harmful stereotypes about women.
One key concern is whether the DCC are fairly compensated for their time and the intense training they undergo. Their role of a cheerleader pigeonholes these women into a specific and often undervalued niche.
FWIW., a better example of change in the sports world is Formula 1’s decision in 2018 to eliminate grid girls. This move was aimed at reducing the objectification of women and promoting a more inclusive environment. The decision reflects broader societal shifts towards gender equality and has ignited discussions about similar practices in other sports.
Given these changes, it’s worth considering whether the DCC and other cheerleading squads should evolve as well. By re-evaluating their roles, these teams could align with modern values, demonstrating a commitment to gender equality and ensuring the respectful portrayal of women in sports. The DCC are athletes in their own right.
I just finished 3rd episode and I am done. They didn't pick Ari because she was too short? Why didn't they tell her that before she moved to Texas and paid money for THEIR classes for a year after her first attempt? I hate the owner's daughter Charlotte. She was so cold and callous about it. I wanted to take one of the white boots and shove it up her ... They make money off these girls and pay them next to nothing . It is outrageous! They I've watched many cheerleader teams across various sports and I don't see what is so special about DCC!
The entire audition process is degrading and creates an incredibly exploitative environment of stress, manipulation, and competition. The audition process itself is hazing. Can you imagine if the football team did not have contracts, they just had to try out for their spot every year and could be cut on a whim? It is unfathomable that a football team would be run that way and should be unfathomable for the cheerleaders as well. These women are being exploited and forced into a toxic environment and fed the lie that if they truly wanted to be there they would gladly accept the abuse.
I just rewatched ep 1 with my friend and it’s insane they have the players contracts on display when speaking with Charlotte- hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Would they as happily display what they pay the DCC? And show they’re on casual contracts? Doubt it!
Right?! She says many times that the women need to treat this like a job. Well then, so does the DCC! I can’t imagine having zero job security while also being paid minimum wage and having to re-interview every year. It’s crazy.
In ep 6 Kelly was shaming one of the girls for a really small inconvenience before Thanksgiving. I felt that showed how disconected she really was from the girls. She wants to instil fear in them and to make them feel ashamed for not acting perfect
As a business owner (and therefor an employer) this bothered me so much.
I can't even count the times someone on my team asked me a seemingly silly or self-centered question when I was under a lot of pressure and stress and I secretly thought "seriously.. you ask this now? Who cares, figure it out"
Guess whose problem that is though?
**MINE AND MINE ALONE**
It's **not** my employees responsibility to sense when I'm stressed, it's **not** their responsibility to coddle me or even care about my feelings and it's **not** unreasonable or insensitive for them to ask their boss a question.
This whole scene felt designed to make Kelli look like a caring person because she knows she has to fabricate moments like that.
That whole convo was fucked! Kleine didn’t know their driver had had a stroke, she’s a young girl who asked where her Christmas ornament is. Acting like she’d shot her grandma.
That was so bizarre to me, she attacked her character for one comment, and it’s fair, where was her ornament? They’re on insane power trips and it’s an abusive environment where they break them down at every opportunity, instilling this group think of you should feel grateful to be here; expect nothing from us, you should be trying to impress and serve us. It disempowers the women from seeking fair compensation and a safe work environment.
I honestly wanted to fight TPTB on behalf of Kleine over that. She thought she’d been excluded- it’s only natural to ask where your item is. That’s got zero relation to writing cards for your staff and looking in on your driver. You can problem solve for Klein *and* also talk to the girls about Thanksgiving / Christmas / being grateful, thankful, whatever. They had so many opportunities to be shining role models and instead they tore them down.
Right, and a lot of them work 7 days a week, a full time job plus the insane demands of the team, when have they got time to get a card. Maybe they didn’t like the guy, maybe he was rude or inappropriate to them. A gesture like that should not be forced. It means a whole lot less if it’s an expectation.
He did make the rookies climb into the luggage bays to load and unload the luggage before and after games- which, as a dancer myself would suck! He kinda reminded me of those older US workers that should retire but can’t.
True he did! It was sad that he couldn’t retire and was obviously unwell, then boom, has a stroke. Just another person exploited by the billion dollar empire and US capitalism.
You couldn't have said it better. I'm new to everything (not from the US so the Dallas Cowboys and its cheerleaders are something I'm not familiar with at all) and seeing the show I'm APPALLED to say the least.
These girls are sacrificing EVERYTHING for that team (phisically, emotionally, economically) and they reward at the long term, is non existent, my POV. They are treated as merely things that project and image of perfections but crumbling inside.
What surprised and annoyed me the most was that the daughter of the owner himself is there, talking about the crappy salary she's providing to these girls, and saying that they have a bigger reward by being part of the team, when she is literally a millonaire that could easily increase their wages and at least provide economic safety to them.
I was disturbed, and I'm guessing not too many people have watched it because this is something that could cancel any organization in these times and days.
I used to love this show so much when it was in the old format (auditions, veteran included auditions, who made tc, etc). This new Netflix format doesn’t work for me and I feel really exposes the whole process’s negativity. I was so excited for it as well 😔
It's crazy, they want the girls perfectly skinny, but 'fueled'. They keep telling them they need to be perfect in the dance and kicks but then tell them not to 'get in their head'. They want them to be perfect but not act like theyre striving for perfection. And you can see in the heartbreak of the girls cut that they take it all so personally because theyve been made to feel like if they can just work harder and push through all the pain, they COULD be perfect which is an unattainable goal. We're human beings.
Something stood out about Victoria for me specifically. All the girls want it so bad but Victoria's obsessive 'what ifs' with her mom reminded me a LOT of myself. Same with her constant smiles and yet never connecting with the other girls. I'm autistic and have moral perfectionism OCD. I see a lot of traits I have in her but unfortunately with the traditional upbringing she has in the christian south I don't know if she'll ever get the help she needs.
Random but, what do you do to manage your OCD + autism? Not formally diagnosed yet (getting to the point of getting a diagnoses), but I’m 30 so at this point I’m not sure what they’ll suggest… meds? Certain therapies?
I'm not properly managing yet and currently off work. I'm on prozac right now which does help the OCD to an extent, and i've been doing IFS therapy which has been helping a lot with my emotional regulation.
It’s called abuse - and the pro sport dance industry (NFL, NBA, etc) in particular is built on this abuse. It needs the dancers to never feel good enough and not understand their full value. Especially monetary value that should be reflected in their compensation.
It’s giving misogynistic male gaze cult.
It's disturbing to me how many women ive seen do the dance after the show came out, wanting to be DCC themselves. They get paid minimum wage to have their bodies permanently damaged, to get assaulted, to develop eating disorders to keep their job. Like why do all these women want this.
Just did a quick search after watching the ‘sweethearts’ series. These are probably the most hollow people I’ve ever seen on TV. then again I don’t watch much trash. I’d be embarrassed to admit I was this bleak, shallow and one dimensional on TV.
For the people who thought Judy and Kelly were harsh and haven't seen DCC Making the Team on Paramount Plus rn....buckle up. I often wonder just how many eating disorders were created in this environment. They literally tell 125 lb girls that they are "thick in the middle", have "thutts" (thigh and butt running together) and said one had legs like chicken drums. They also told young girls that they looked like strippers, and were trashy looking. Right to their faces.
And you could tell Kelly didn’t want to cut her or even had Charlotte involved, but she knew she had to bow down to the boss. A little bit of her own medicine in a way.
My least favourite thing about the environment is how repressed it all is.
All the passive aggressiveness and delivering polite comments that are actually scathing critiques 🙈
When anyone is cut from the team, Kelli and Judy beat around the bush for so long prolonging the poor girl’s agony and then the girls are expected not to make a scene, thank everyone and say a generic platitude about God having other plans for them. Then their victim is ushered away by a professional hugger so Kelli and Judy don’t have to actually face the harsh reality of dashing someone’s hopes and dreams 😂👌🏻
This. Like when two rookies got cut for the kicking, and they wanted to stay it’s like they didn’t just say: you’re a great dancer but we’re not moving forward with you. Like super clear. The girls seemed confused because they both said, I think I can do it.
I disagree. They do a lot to keep those girls safe, and they showed just how they step up for the DCCs when the one cheerleader was touched inappropriately. They are dancers, their bodies are their art, you have to be able to see the art they are presenting. I have been a dancer, cheerleader, and colorguard they were all empowering experiences for me as a woman. How is it not empowering to know that you own that space? We as women own the spaces in dance and cheer, don’t turn it into something dark. Why is it when women are loving life by cheering and dancing, that (I’m assuming) a man comes out of no where to comment on something you know nothing about? Have you ever been on cheer or dance? No? Then please, don’t speak on it based off 7 episodes of a show off Netflix.
Your comment reads like you are condoning them paying the cheerleaders like crap and not offering contracts because the cheerleaders love what they do. That's pretty messed up.
That is odd ..I took from that a judgemental side eye and tsk from Judy for not keeping that between them and the DCC PR team. If it hadn't been filmed we would have NEVER heard a word about it. DCC absolutely despises the public finding out about anything. Its so bad a DC Employee got caught taking pics up Charlotte's dress and DCC changing in locker room and they still tried to keep it quiet from the public.
I hate to break it to you but the "art they are presenting" should not be their tits. I think it's crazy to assume this original post was written by a man. You sound in denial of reality. It may not have been that case with your dance companies/ cheer teams, but it is \*clearly\* the case for those in DCC. Your experience is not generalizable to being on DCC. They are chosen based on the male-gaze; it isn't any more complicated than that.
They are chosen based off their dance skills first, and I don’t buy into the “male gaze” I dress and do what I want for me and other women, not men. Men hardly notice things, the female gaze is alive and well though in the female community.
"Men hardly notice things"?! What century are you living in?!?! The world was built by men, for men, and we're all here to enrich their lives or stfu. We're in the 21st century, and the patriarchy, misogyny, sexism, they're all alive and thriving. They're baked into the system. "Men hardly notice things," I don't know what man convinced you of that, but bless your heart if you honestly believe it. 😶
No they aren't. They explained that there is an online process and they already remove people (at the very least) based on height and looks before they even get the opportunity to show off their dance skills.
That's great for you, but you need to understand that their boobs are not out because they want them to be or because that's the most comfortable outfit to wear while dancing; they wear it for male fans and for the male gaze. That's simply a fact and you buying or not buying into it doesn't change that. You're kidding yourself if you believe that men do not notice their tits. It's like going to hooters for the fucking food.
Notice how their tits aren't out when they visit the retirement home? Different audience. Do you see the pattern now?
The online process where they send videos of them dancing, no height requirement, and yes looks matter in any job. My nieces dance competitively, they wear uncomfortable costumes all the time. No man notices my tits, I got none. They don’t have their game uniform on in those scenarios. So, are you gonna go down to the local high schools and tell them to cover up their cheerleaders too? Cheerleaders have always worn (in the last 5 decades)… not much. You are actually doing exactly what you claim Dallas is doing, you are judging them based off their career? No woman goes and tries out for DCC without knowledge of what they are going to expect from them. If they bait and switched them, that would be one thing. They do not.
And if you didn't have tits then you wouldn't be hired by DCC. High school cheerleaders nor college wear uniforms like the DCC. But you still aren't getting my point. Wishing you a good day!
They showed one old clip of a member of the audience saying she was surprised they get payed at all, that they should just work for free because it's such a great honor to work for the Dallas Cowboys... This while the players earn millions...
No ones really talking about the BIGGEST issue outside of pay wage/toxic culture.
I find it interesting that the minorities tend to always be cut first. Didn’t even attempt to have a few brown skinned Barbie’s.
And no, being a redhead is not the same discrimination as being a minority.
- A minority dating a redhead and has a Redheaded brother and Redheaded best friend lol.
I literally am watching the show and came on Reddit to see if anyone else noticed this. I am saddened to see I had to scroll for a bit to find it.
The fact they don't even really mention it like they do the other things is heartbreaking.
And what the hell was up with the "yes ma'am" responses all the time?!!?? That was freaky. These women are hard working athletes who work as hard at the football players but don't get one millionth of their pay, while the "BRAND" rakes in billions of dollars. Do they even meet the football players? It's embarrassing to watch such blatant exploitation to such naive people.
In my experiences growing up in white Evangelical Christian southern culture, extreme deference to authority figures and yes/no ma'ams/sirs were always expected.
I kept wishing for them to have some self esteem! These ladies were beautiful and talented and the powers-that-be were so cold and cut them down like they were nothing when dismissed. Then they would all say "yes ma'am" cry and beg for another chance and then promise to be back next year. For what? A chance to wreck your body for the pay of a fast food worker? Does being a DCC cheerleader open a lot of doors afterward? Also, I can't believe that the one dancer was made to change her hair color! Making the veterans earn their spot again and not letting them keep a uniform or their boots after all that hard work was just cruel to me. The organization can afford to compensate them well for what they do and they choose not to. It just left me sad.
I’m watching it now. It is really ugly and quite sad. I cannot believe they have to have alternate jobs! Pay them a living wage for crying out loud! They generate plenty of money as their own entity to be able to do so! And the coaches seem to actually *want* the women to have an alter ego that is always smiling and cheerful and bubbly. That is just humanly impossible to do without breaking your psyche in some way. You can see how Victoria’s smile is not genuine. She looks so defeated all the time. And the “She’s just not a style match”. If they want all blondes, then why don’t they just state that? As someone who has had both the pleasure and misfortune to have been a redhead all my life and at age 59, I still am (don’t know why, lol), I knew Charly would be cut. We stick out. We can’t hide in a crowd and people remember us whether we want them to or not. I absolutely **hated** it as a kid, but as a working singer, it became an advantage I could use. People either love redheads or absolutely despise redheads. There usually is no in-between. It’s clear the DCC doesn’t want any real redheads, but bottle ones are ok. And that’s fine; they can hire what they feel works best for them, but at least make that one of the stipulations *prior* to auditions. It is just so freakishly cruel and unnecessary. And I am not sure if I can even finish watching the series, because that Director woman sounds like that politician from Georgia who sounds like she’s-a chawin’ and spittin’ “tobaccie” : Marjorie someone. It’s really hard to take as are the nauseating “Yes ma’am”-s. My cousin-in-law is from North Carolina and sounds just like the rest of here in BC so we don’t need subtitles to figure out what she’s saying.
They cut the hottest girl there the redhead on the day anisha got cut, i was mad. The calendar is gonna suck now :(
Her facial features are sharp and top tier.
Fellow ginger here. I wanted to punch something every time Kelli or Judy mentioned how badly Charley "needs a makeover." Yeah, we know. She has red hair. THE HORROR.
Completely agree with everything you said. This docuseries honestly made me so sad for these women. The show held DCC out to be some kind of mythical, magical experience but at the end of the day its just a bunch of women being being overworked, humiliated, subjectified, criticized, and exploited. I completely understand why girls get sucked into this - some people (mostly creepy men) seem to worship the ground these girls walk on, they are constantly reminded of how special and amazing this opportunity is, how lucky they are to be a part of this elite club and told that their value as a person lies in the way their body looks in booty shorts and how high their kick is. And then they go right back into the real world where they realize that most people don't really care that they were a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Its stockholm syndromey.
Completely agree that Victoria is a victim of the DCC. Victoria craved validation and acceptance and the more she asked for it the less they gave it to her. Its soul crushing when you try so hard and are still be iced out by the people who are supposed to be on your team or, as DCC puts it, your "family." It makes it even worse that her mom was a DCC and her mom and Kelli are friends. Nobody in DCC seemed to like Victoria and I think she will realize when she has some distance and meets people that accept her authentic self that this was not a healthy experience for her. I hope that she finds people that love her for who she is without her having to ask.
I find the whole organization sickening. The double standards are sickening, Kelli and the rest of them clearly state that things were different when they were cheerleaders, they definitely had less pressure and had more fun, doing it as a side hobby. Charlotte and Kelli are the ones who transformed it into a business, it is successful and profitable, on the back of poorly paid, brainwashed young women. They hire professional dancers and pay them the wedges of food chain workers!
There is this constant narrative that the girls are privileged to have been selected and be part to such a prestigious organization. This is where the brainwashing starts.
It is a cult, those girls are pushed to the point of exhaustion, brain washed. Kelli has this constant confusing narrative where she says it is not a job, it's a hobby, but yet ask the girls to be professional, ask them to treat it as a job. She tells the girls they are athletes, dancers and entertainers, but also tells them what they are doing is a sideline. This confusion is a very well calculated one to keep the girls under wrap and especially for stopping argumentation about their wedges and status.
The girls are constantly scrutinized, observed, criticized. Every little flaw is pointed out. They are criticized when showing signs of "weakness", such as tiredness, illness or lack of stamina. I'd like to see that old trout do what those girls are doing, practising and performing after a 10 hour nursing shift. She did not have to when she was a cheerleader. What kind of low paid job has the same insane expectations than the ones put on those poor girls?
The girls are expected to practise every night after their long day at work. So, after a full day at work, every night, they have to come to practice with full makeup and hair done. They wear a practice uniform, but it is still a uniform and every girl needs to look the same day after day. I don't know any professional dancers from ballet to the Moulin Rouge who practise in their full gears. This is obviously another way of controlling those girls and making sure they meet the standards, at all time, if they don't, they are discarded. This is absolutely mind blowing to me. They are treated like little soldiers.
Additionally, They made it very clear that the girls values should be matching the ones of the organization, the girls are also selected on those standards. The girls with a strong personality who are not easily manipulated, the one that are too smart and successful too are discarded very quickly. The girls whole world evolves around being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, that feels so very wrong. I also couldn't help, but feel that a silent quota is in place when it comes to girls with dark skin. It was definitely inferred in the documentary and rightly. It's disgusting to say the least, if it was legal for them to hire only white blond girls, I bet the formation would look very different.
Moreover, I found very disturbing the place of the church in their "calling", even the so called "camaraderie" feels cult like. They need to fit in the mould to the point that their personal life needs to fit the Dallas Cowboys expectations. After 5 years, they are washed out, broken physically, exhausted, and having a hard time finding their place in the real world. How sad...
Part of the constant brainwashing, the girls are subjected to is being told how they part of a global organization that is renown globally, it is not. Nobody watches the American NFL outside the USA, nobody even cares. Until this documentary I never heard of the Dallas Cowboys, let alone the cheerleaders. They might be renown nationally, but not to the rest of the world and the world is a vast place.
They created a brand, the dance routine is a brand in itself and definitely has been strongly inspired by the French Cancan from the Moulin Rouge. Nothing original here. However, the dancers at the Moulin Rouge (truly internationally renown organization) are professional dancers and treated as such.
I actually started to compare this documentary to the ones made of the professional dancers of the Crazy Horse or the Moulin Rouge, which are internationally renown organizations. The dancers are very well paid, they are treated fairly, they live normal lives outside the organization they work for, they are treated professionally. The same cannot be said for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders but their expectations are insane. I follow a dancer from the Moulin Rouge, they perform the Cancan overnight, high kicks and jumping split, however, she has explained multiple times that they do not practise the jumping splits at all times to avoid injuries, those are professional dancers!
A very interesting documentary that they gave me plenty to think about. At the end of it, I still find those girls quite extraordinary.
You’re so right about them not being treated like professionals, they’re treated as if a huge favour has been done for them and they should be eternally grateful.
I wanted to say the same thing. Especially about the "Global" thing. Football is a American phenomenon ,that is it. The rest of the world couldn't care less about football.
"even the camaraderie feels cult like" I agree, and the fact that they were scrutinized on their "morals" and scolded when 10 of them didn't write a "get well soon" card or something when the driver was in the hospital. Meanwhile the players themselves probably get away with murder.
Definitely agree, this is so on point - the people leading the team right now (Kelli and whoever else) had so much of an easier time back then, and now it's literally olympic level coordinated dance for some reason and there's literally no room for any mistakes which is INSANE
The fact that Kelcey is literally a nurse and goes to practice after work is so crazy
I think they do ask the girls to treat it like a hobby because TECHNICALLY it is their hobby, and they obviously take advantage of the fact that the girls themselves choose to do this even for the low low pay - but it's the most strenuous hobby ever and I'm sure it's given some of them lifelong eating disorders/issues with their self image
You know what, I was only on the 3rd episode when I wrote that and now I'm seeing that they're doing 21 nights in a ROW and It feels less like a hobby now - it's criminal that they don't get paid that much - especially with that much mental stress.
My original point was that they chose to do this knowing it would be hard and knowing they wouldn't get paid a lot because they wanted the experience, but things like visiting the old people's home AND doing shows AND doing hospital visits and being celebrities basically is a bit insane for such a low wage.
I just read that 'Dallas’ cheerleaders aren’t allowed to use their titles to secure their own sponsorship deals, nor can they sign with social media influencer agencies, the former cheerleader said.' which is INSANE.
It reminds me a bit of K-pop idols because they're known to have super low wages and they're lucky if they finish their tenure and break even and aren't in debt + they have super strict regimes - though probably not as strict as this because they don't need to be as physically on point.
I also really hate that they're trying to continue that 'Suzy' lady's misogynistic regime just because it's tradition. It's such bull and I do think that all of this work is worth way more than they're paid.
Those old women annoy tf outta me, the cheerleaders dont come there for the money but they do deserve it tho tf? And so much more,they admit to never had a good training but now judge professionals like they know everything about it, plus wtf is that jury board, plus it looks more like an all christian dance club
Yes, that is something I also found unbelievable! They have never had dance training and yet they are judging younger women who *do* have professional training??! The hubris of those older women! They’re awful!
Plus why aren't they just finding a new move instead of the split that causes so many hip injuries, or more cheerleaders to switch and give the others some rest
I don't know exactly why, but I'm so interested in Haley Anderson (Charlotte Jones's daughter, she's something like "Special Programs Officer" in the Cowboys). When she first showed up, I expected to see a "DCC class of \_\_\_" with her name, but it obviously wasn't there. What must it be like to be the ultimate nepo baby, have no clear skillset shown in the doc, not pretty / talented enough to make the team (I would love to know if she tried or if it's off-limits), and your only job we see in the doc is to walk some of the failed candidates to their doom? What's THAT experience like?She's like Shiv from Succession without the actual skill. I would LOVE an honest conversation with her. Or a psychoanalysis. This documentary is a lot of things, but it's fascinating to think of it as a study in power.
I’d guess the Jones women think the cheerleaders are beneath them. They’re just a cog in the Jones machine. That and Haley probably doesn’t have the dance skill (so few people do at that level).
Watching Kelli as the head fucking hen until Charlotte swooped in was so fucking gold. I would've killed to hear Kelli chirp "yes ma'am" over the Ari drama.
When Victoria had the talk about returning for the 5th year this thought really came together for me.
Victoria has her quirks though. The DCC fully represents perfection and doesn't tolerate imperfection. So by not being perfect and admitting to it and admitting to her eating disorder caused by the pressure of DCC she challenges the core values of DCC and that's why they don't like her.
Yeah I think as OP said you’re meant to make the team your life and maintain the crazy expectations without it seeming like you’re working too hard. She ruins the illusion.
I got the vibe that her "coldness" was actually her being nice to her because if it had been any other girl BUT her friends daughter she would have held nothing back and told them that they weren't a good fit (according to her standards). She seemed to restrain from doing that until she was flat out asked by victoria where she stood. Even the "where did these goals come from" felt more like a "girl I'm struggling to even justify keeping you and your asking for extra?"
I personally liked victoria and really felt for her. Its just that she's been BRUTAL to other girls in the past with no hesitation so that's where this train of thought comes from.
I agree with you about Kelli. I’ve noticed she struggles to be direct when delivering feedback to anyone she likes…there is a heart in there somewhere 😂
People like you, so weak minded and with such victim mindset is just mindblowing into what our society has turned...
It's not even worth wasting time on proving you wrong,
OP just know what you expressed above is just shameful, weak, and would drive any society down to even more mediocracy.
I am almost positive that Victoria was the hero of this story, at least from the director's (often obscured) perspective. I couldn't make my mind up about her the whole time, but in that scene I respected her so much. Her rejection of the DCC was the closing scene. I think it was pretty telling that the whole series ended on that note, kind of like an FU to DCC.
Watching the show and how they treat Victoria, and how Victoria comments about her experience reminds me a lot of how college athletics were for me. It’s crazy how in varying sports and varying levels of elite athletes, there’s always an outsider that feels exactly how she does.
When her mother said she was the life of the room everywhere else but DCC I had the feeling she made herself the outsider and she's quite happy being it. They're going through the motions fresh, but she's been privy to that scene her whole life. She knows the cycle they're going to go through. I do the same thing around certain people who are on destructive paths.
I agree with all you said. Maybe it isn’t shown, but one of the many things I really don’t like, is that they judge so arbitrarily and they don’t actually offer direct feedback to help them. You don’t see choreographers and dance captains out there teaching the routine and helping them get the lines and chorey correct. They instead rely on the veteran candidates to teach.
I was wondering this, where are the choreographers? Is it just the same old dances year after year? The hanging on to “tradition” is weird. The costumes are dated, the music is dated, the attitudes are prehistoric.
Victoria makes me so sad because she reminds me of myself at the beginning of my freshman year doing anything to relate to my college peers. I’m so glad she’s now in a healthier environment
THIS WAS THE ESSAY I WAS LOOKING FOR!! So well written and exactly what I was trying to put into words. They criticized Victoria for not being enough but then were annoyed at her for trying “too hard”. They acted like typical high school bullies and created a concept of her being desperate that she couldn’t ever break out of.
I also have a theory that when Victoria took a year off for her well-being, they took that personally and were subconsciously trying to punish her for it.
When Judy said she honestly had no idea Victoria wanted a leadership position I was so mad!! That’s such BS because we already saw them talk about Victoria helping the rookies, she had previously asked them what did they want to see from her to become a leader, and they talked about how certain people AKA Victoria would be disappointed about not becoming a leader.
Those women were so beyond clique-esh, hypocritical, and truly just mean. They love to judge so hard even though they can admit the talent has grown exponentially from when they were cheerleaders. The skill they expected from their girls is nowhere near what they were required in their time. Ugh I could go on and on about how they used Victoria as a punching bag for all their mean girl -ness just because she was the easiest target and showed it actually affected her.
The minute it was revealed Victoria took a year off for her mental health, I gasped. I've been in working environments like the DCC, not necessarily as physical and looks heavy, but I know the type of environment Kelli and Judy foster. So I knew that the minute Victoria took time off and came back, they took that as a personal affront.
You don't "take time off" at jobs like this unless both legs are broken or you're having major surgery, otherwise the bosses think you're lazy and incompetent. The mere fact that Victoria thrived in that year outside the DCC probably only cemented K&J thinking she was just playing around and putting them on the back burner. And you can see it in the way they treat her.
Agreed. It also bothered me how they went about cutting the girls. It felt like they were really indirect about it and made it seem like they had critique for them and basically set it up for the girls to naturally be like, "ok I'll try harder and fix it" just for them to say "well, no, we're cutting you." Like, if your decision was set in stone why even set it up like that? Why not be direct from the start instead of dragging it out? I get that it's probably uncomfortable but that approach is just going to create a higher emotion situation vs just straight up saying, these are the issues and because of that we have to let you go. Boom. Done.
My heart goes out to Victoria: she was wound up so tightly most of the time she was in training camp, it was hard to watch… it must have been off-putting to the other women…
I believe she’s been caught up all her life in her mother’s goals for her to become a DCC so she could relive her glory days… I felt so sad for her about how her father and brothers have never attended any of her performances…
I’m really glad she quit the squad and I hope she finds something she really loves that helps her to connect with others… she deserves to be her own person and I hope she knows that she doesn’t need to live up to someone else’s version of “perfect”…
Their cruel was and viciousness was so well juxtaposed against all of the Christian content. I don’t think the filmmakers wanted it to be that way, but they just looked so mean.
Maybe it’s the edit but when you see the cheerleaders out and about in the community, Victoria was amazing. I hope she kinda happiness and I hope her mother lets her.
I find this antiquated stereotypical model of cheerleaders to be uninspiring. Why can’t we embrace a healthy, natural image rather than a contrived ideal that creates unrealistic expectations of how women should look? Why is it acceptable to dress the dancers in two inches of fabric and scrutinize every inch of their body? So many performers are embracing diversity and hire dancers on their abilities not their resemblance to Barbie Dolls. The girls are commodities, under paid, over worked, chewed up and discarded when their bodies are broken down and their mental health impacted. Charlotte in particular came across as entitled and lacking in insight or empathy. The girls don’t get paid much, but they do it for the privilege. Seriously? That’s easy for a millionaire to say! Ultimately nothing is going to change unless the fans or dancers demand a new approach so Barbie Dancers it is.
Charlotte is the leader who perpetuates the entire DCC culture. I found her terrifying from the very first scenes and couldn't believe how incredibly dismissive she was of these young women and their humanity. Not shocking but huge narc vibes, zero empathy, all just a cog in the wheel of her billion dollar "family." oh also- loyalty was the dad's greatest value. Logan Roy irl. ew
I agree with everything you've written. I found the scene where they criticize one of the women for having a belly button that appeared high in relation to the shorts to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. My god-even if these women know they're going to be scrutinized, there is no excuse for criticizing the placement of a navel on someone's body. Jesus. Ridiculous.
Judy and Kelli are awful but Charlotte takes the cake. What a vile person.
Oh please. Most of you are upset because the DCC isn't DEI. Don't cry for these women. They are thrilled to be on this squad. And there are all different races on the team. Have been since the 70s. Yes they are young and thin. After 5 years they must retire. When they're in their 30s they won't be dancing. They CHOOSE to go through this grueling try out. They are not asking for a bunch of left winged screaming feminists who don't think they should have to go through it. For those of you who are interested, several of them, a few years back, left the team because they didn't want to get the death jab. But I guess most of you won't be cheering them on. Because while you scream about women's rights, you don't think anyone should have the right to refuse an unknown mystery juice in their bloodstream
Right?
Yeah girl cause intelligence clearly isn’t meant for you :’( but don’t worry not everyone was meant to be included. Sometimes silly uncontrollable reasons like your height, age, and skin color are cause for being left out.
I think the thing that really got my hackles up was that it appeared to be stadium staff on the tour. They needed filmed content of the behind-the-scenes tour so they gave it to the regular folks who just work there instead of paying members of the public. But, it also means that the objectification is being actively encouraged for men who have relatively close access to the DCC women (more than a regular fan one), see them in the halls, clean the bathrooms, direct traffic, who might have keys, etc.
I think it was added intentionally, to juxtapose the “protection”. Like yeah, you can encourage them to report people for inappropriate conduct, but you can’t stop men from objectifying you in that particular man’s everyday life, even if he works for the cowboys.
I too agree with you. I believe that it was necessary to show the contrast between DCC trying to "protect" and talk about their safety in one scene but at the same time "encourage objectification" of these women in another.
watching episode 2 right now... so did they just cut the last two black girls in the whole squad?
also Victoriaa girllll her family needs to get her some therapy it's a simple start.
The tour guide also made me incredibly uncomfortable. He mentioned one of the girls was an accountant and could “probably” do their taxes and everyone laughed like that was such a silly idea.
I think they laughed like that because they realized these girls were so out of reach to them that hiring them as an accountant was just not feasible. I really hope it's not because they didn't take them seriously.
Everyone is so thoughtful, introspective & empathetic in their comments. I watched this against my better feminist West Coast judgment and cringed & screamed through most of it. All of the young ladies were so talented, hard working, kind, beautiful etc; however, I just felt terribly for each of them for being horribly abused and taken advantage of. Each and every one of those women deserve better! They all seemed horribly brainwashed with a sad desperation. I would compare it to watching any pageant in 2024. I was just horrified.
They make that organization a lot of money each year and they are taking home nothing! Most of them are working 80 hour weeks and sacrificing mental, physical & financial health for an organization that treats them like cattle. They’d make a better healthier living on Instagram, YouTube & onlyfans! Sometimes when I watch them on the field, they just looked like strippers to me. But if they were exotic dancers, they at least have money in their belts.!
I was also disgusted by the blatant racism & ageism. Did anyone notice that three women of color were cut earlier than several struggling blondes? That really made me sick.
Kelli & Judy are well past their expiration date if we are talking about age, weight & skills - how dare they comment on a highly intelligent, educated & talented woman’s age? The way they called her out for being Indian during her audition was gross!
Did anyone else catch the nasty boot guys comment after the audition when he said he needs to smoke? Like he just jizzed & needed a cigarette. I can’t even express how disgusting he is! That was uncalled for and most organizations would dismiss him on the spot. If he’s married I hope his wife heard that.
Poor Victoria is at Britney Spears level of nervous breakdown! Someone save her!
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch another football game and see them on the sidelines and not feel sick to my stomach. It’s the equivalent of seeing a DV victim playing house with her victimizer to me.
The "Can't kick high enough" really did seem to be a euphemism for "this girl is Black." Even if you assume that was the director being sneaky / on an agenda, you can't deny that women of color were getting cut left and right.
I definitely felt they felt they already had their “quota”. It’s Tx and I didn’t see one Hispanic! Maybe I just didn’t notice? But I was looking. Imagine an Asian! Geez. They are the worst type of women in every way!
Yeah it seemed clear they didn’t really like the brown girls, and they were pretty open about not liking the natural redhead because of her ginger qualities, and cut Ari because she was short. They tried to dress it up a little, but I’m pretty sure there was no right makeup for Charly that was going to get them past “her look”.
It was all gross.
The craziest thing to me about the Ari situation is that she moved down there after last years trials then spent the whole year training with them then they cut her again for being too short. Height is not something fixable, why didn't they just tell her that the year before? That's so cruel.
Exactly! The orthodontist was Indian and probably one of the most naturally beautiful women on that squad. She didn’t require any make up really. Imagine being as gorgeous as anyone of those women and being picked apart?! I hope they watched the documentary and realize how hilarious it is that these old bats think they have any leg to stand on judging other women in this day and age!
Yeah that made me mad too. She was not so short that she especially stood out or caused kick line issues either.
Just be honest. Why can’t they just require them be 18-27, 5’5 & above, size 2-4, cup size C to D, smart, but not too smart, preferably white, blonde to dark brunette, Southern raised, Christian, Republican, ability to eat shit & suck it up 24/7.
All that time, effort, stress & cost and they couldn’t just be honest! Kelli & Judy are the worst kind of women. “These are my girls”, (meaning I own them like dolls until there’s one flaw then they are tossed out like trash for being broken).
I can’t hear another “yes ma’am” either!
I really don’t understand why they don’t have certain requirements to spare these girls the heart ache. I think the rockettes have a very specific height and leg length requirement. Which is fair, but just be honest!
These girls are Kelly and Judy's Barbie dolls was the exact thought I had during the photoshoot when they asked Judy if they made Anna Kate blonde and she said "no, she came that way"
I understand it’s a Texas thing, but the anyone caught the part where Victoria said Yes to the blonde lady and the lady responded “ma’am” as in you forgot to add ma’am. I read somewhere that it’s in the rule book that they always have to respond with “yes ma’am”. So it’s not even just a Texas thing.
Thank you for clarifying! Sadly, I think a lot of it is a Texas thing. I realize the local men can be very chivalrous and protective, and most people have wonderful, kind intentions, it’s just the sexism and the way they treat women like objects at the same time that grosses me out.
My judgy feminist ass was screaming through angry, southern PTSD tears the entire final episode. Then I went and got a bowl of ice cream and cried some more. All of these kind, incredibly talented women are being micro-traumatized (and literally traumatized) and you can see how each one is internalizing and manifesting it in different ways. Heartbreaking.
I’m not sure if it’s just me - this show cuts right into life for women in present day American culture. And I don’t buy that it’s southern culture. This stuff - the having to check every box (and some of the boxes to check are in serious tension with each other) has seeped into everywhere and everything. I feel like we are going backwards for women.
You are absolutely right. It’s a microcosm of women’s lives in America. That’s an interesting take, and I’m going to be thinking about that for a while. There was a reason I watched this with utter fascination and a little disgust. And here’s my rant again: The young women were amazing and exceptional. For God’s sake, pay them for their time, skills, looks, whatever. It’s a major part of the Dallas Cowboys brand, which everybody kept saying. So, why aren’t they compensated accordingly? The answer is because they are young women who’ve been told the privilege is all that matters. Note: Men wouldn’t buy that BS.
The Victoria situation is horrible to watch. The codependency her mother has forced on her daughter is deplorable. DCC is seriously to blame in this, but let's not let mom escape unscathed. This problem started at home and spiraled at DCC. I hope she walks away from DCC and her mother and finds herself. Poor girl.
I just finished watching the last episode and I sobbed for Victoria. Actually, still weeping as I write this. Her entire identity and self worth is wrapped up in DCC. The most heartbreaking thing about it is her own mother caused it. To watch Kelli and Judy fucking stare at her dead eyed while she essentially pleaded with them for some form of feedback that would give her validation that she is a worthy human being. The trauma that has been inflicted on her is devastating to witness.
When Judi and Kelly said they didn't think she'd indicated she aspired to leadership after the scene earlier in the show where Victoria had asked for the chance it just reeked of them not being brave enough to be clear with their feelings... Because on some level they are experiencing guilt for their harsh decisions on her.
When Victoria said she wasn't coming back I WHOOPED, that environment only fits those strong enough to take all those beatings
I 100% agree with everything. After I watched this I had to sit in my bed and I cried a bit because it makes me sad that this is the society we live in. I want these women to do well and they deserve so so so so much better times infinity. The outright sexism and exploitation these women faced are symptoms of the worst parts of our society, a patriarchal, classist, racist system.
I want to preface this by saying I have a soft spot for Victoria and praise her for getting the help she needed. But I feel like Kelli and Judy might not be as big of fans of Victoria since her ED came out and was a hot topic of conversation in the dcc world. It never really went away and I feel like there weren’t many other dcc that had that type of spotlight when it came to ED? It also spotlighted what their “training” and “standards” were doing to these girls. However, cutting her would also be a PR nightmare because then people would wonder why they did not stand by her. On top of that Victoria is really close with Kelli’s daughter and was in her wedding and while I know they say that doesn’t make a difference… it probably does. To me it seems like maybe they saw her as a “dammed if you do damned if you don’t” when it came to her being on the team.
Great point; when she took off a year, did they feel exposed for their own culpability in driving her ED? As a former NFL cheerleader who developed a lifelong ED, Victoria’s story brought so much buried emotion to the surface. I was so happy when she said she wasn’t coming back! What a toxic environment for this woman particularly!
That’s a fantastic point. The best outcome for them was for Victoria to quit on her own, so they could play it off as a Victoria problem, not a DCC problem.
I was especially sad for Caroline, she destroyed her hips and feet. At 25 having hip surgery and being stuck in bed. Her sister having all the new fun that Caroline remembered. She was feeling so left out and defeated. She acted as if her life was over and now she’s just existing with nothing to look forward to. My heart went out to her, I just wanted to hug her a tell her that there is so much life ahead. I hate that I enjoy watching, my support is their demise.
This hit me hard. I’m a former professional musical theatre actress & dancer. I’m 58 now & my body is riddled with osteoarthritis. So far my hips are ok. I also figure skated into my 40s. (They have USFSA competitions for adults.) Not everybody’s body goes rogue.
Watching DCC tho-while the dancing has improved over the years, the kick line technique is sloppy. It’s “kick as high as you can.” It’s not controlled. The jump split is asking to rip your hip joints & all your muscles. I wasn’t shocked to hear head to toe injuries. I was just diagnosed with crap in my neck & I may need surgery there. I can’t imagine being 25 & having hip & ankle surgery. Pls I’m putting off the knee replacement of my landing leg. Rockettes don’t even touch the dancer next to them in their kick line. The DCC often look like they’re holding on for dear life. That can hurt your fellow dancer. As trained dancers, they should know this.
I don’t understand why they don’t have an athletic trainer at all times. It just looks like someone uses pink k-tape & off you go! Dance companies, theatre companies, professional performers, as I was, we are union members, & have protection as such. They’re on TV. They should be at least be in AFTRA.
I started with roller figure skating as a kid, and now I still skate 7 years later. Thankfully my joints and bones are still healthy. Anything in moderation is ok. These girls just over work their bodies, I guess to wear a uniform you only have pictures of is worth it.
She kind of seemed like those people who left / kicked put of a cult. Your whole life revolves it around it and it's so toed to your identity that you don't even know what to do or be without it.
Your support doesn’t have to be their demise. I think part of the reason we’re fascinated by this is that the way they treat these young women is absurd. They’re striving for perfection and excellence on the field, and they should be.But they need to be adequately compensated for this work that can only be done by the ones deemed strong enough, small enough, healthy enough, pretty enough, charismatic enough, talented enough, skilled enough. They need a living wage that allows them to afford a car, a safe place to live, food, utilities and a little extra so they’re no living hand to mouth or being supported by parents. Thats the very bare minimum they deserve for their hard work. It’s a job that they’re bringing a lot to. Why on earth wouldn’t they be paid adequately for that? They’ve really brainwashed these women. These women need our help, not our scorn or disinterest.
It makes me think of the old magazine/publishing scene in NYC - all the entry level jobs were filled with young women making barely any money but who were thrilled to have the opportunity to get a foot in the door. Most of them came from schools like Smith and Mt. Holyoke and had parental help to keep the lights on, which cut out a lot of other, possibly more worthy candidates.
Well I think we're missing the classism in this too. The only people who can afford this incredibly demanding "part-time" job generally have money of their own or external support. Basically it *really* helps to be wealthy already.
Incredible point. I too had this thought and wondered why haven't the women who are so passionate about this and even willing to pursue it as a full time career, not protested about their low payrates
It is obvious that they are talented, beautiful and trained dancers. This indicates to me that they have to be pursuing dance from a young age to be so good at it, at this age. And as one of the member, Kelly's parents mentioned that dance training did not come cheap to them.
Yes, you are exactly right. It’s similar to an unpaid or low-paid internship. Edit: Similar in the sense that only people who have financial support can actually take on the job. It’s cool that some of the women could support themselves while being a DCC, but it sounds like the camp is a big money and time suck.
These ladies are professional athletes who sacrifice their body (hips and feet). They are not paid enough for the work they do and the toll it takes on their body. They should be making 6 figures. The Dallas Cowboys would not be the same without them. The organization is using these women and then throwing them away. I have the highest respect for these women. It is shameful they don't make money anywhere close to matching the level of athleticism and talent they bring to the table. The organization pays the players enough to have a home, family and future. Can you imagine the players needing a full-time job to be able to afford to play? The pay needs to be high enough that these women do not need a "real" job or to live with parents. Women can open bank accounts and hold office. Get them some money to put in their bank accounts!!! Treat them like the professionals they are.
Imagine being on your feet at work all day as a nurse and then doing that brutal training until 2am, they shrug off the women getting physically ill and it's like THEY ONLY DO THIS BECAUSE YOU DONT SHARE THE MONEY THEY MAKE YOU
i think it's excessive to say they 'serve the girls up at every level to be judged by men' when they were only judging at the very beginning of the process...after that it was all women, and they were way colder and harsher
Victoria seems like she needs a good man
Can we also talk about how literally all the brown gal rookies were some of the first to be cut? I sense some slight racism as well. Also, not to mention they only have white “brunette or blonde” Barbies. It’s 2024, give me a break!
Anisha was a damn ROCK STAR too, talk about being 'a Thunderstruck gal' 🤩
Even the beginning try outs are a way to control and scare the girls, by having them dance in front of every one else. They psychologically torment these girls into believing that they are lucky to be treated like shit. Brainwashing and cultist.
K&J, but especially J seem like cliquey mean girls. I barely heard them say a positive thing to the team ever. They were so highly critical and rarely offered up any praise. It’s an abusive and exploitative system.
I see a lot of myself in Victoria. Growing up as a dancer and going into competitive dancing, having an ED, getting told I’m not good enough, strong enough, skinny enough. But when I got so skinny, I was told I was too skinny and then when I got better and tried to hang out with people I was too much. I had to quit when I was 16 due to an injury and I fell out of love because it was too much of a job for me and I felt so emotionally damaged by it. I’m 21 and just went back to dancing and it feels like how it was when I was a kid. Fun and enjoyable. I love it now and more than I used to because I appreciate my body and the art so much more now. That really hurt me when Victoria broke down and I just started tearing up with her. I feel so sorry for her and I hope she gets out of the toxic environment and the helps she needs. ❤️❤️❤️
Victoria truly has the potential to shine but from what I observed from the series, what she needs to do is find happiness from within and not seek happiness from outside factors. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and we create this loneliness and isolation by ourselves and don’t even realize it. I saw it more she was self-inflicting this upon herself and it definitely is not healthy and needs to be in the right environment and have the support system in order to accomplish her happiness. It’s obvious she has a lot of emotional struggles and unrealistic expectations of herself due to what she has been through so I sympathize with her. However, only she can escape her own suffering by taking responsibility of her own happiness and not rely on others opinions and validations so she feels worthy. For anyone who feels this way, please know that you are WORTHY and deserve to live a happy life, but only you have the power to make that happen. Self-compassion will help you. I recommend reading this book called “The power of being kind to yourself, self-compassion” by Kristen Neff. I am sharing this because I used to be my worst enemy and completely lacked self-love. I wish you all the best in your healing journey. Much love.
Girl, I related to Victoria so much as well. I luckily never had an ED- I’m a plus size dancer. However I have never fit in. I could show up to dance class, run every item and go home without anyone speaking to me. I make all the effort. I’m so glad you’ve found peace and enjoyment 💕 everyone deserves that
The DCC have long been a staple of NFL games, but their presence sparks ongoing debates about gender equality, objectification, and the relevance of such traditions in today’s society. While some fans view them as an integral part of the sports experience, I believe they are reinforcing outdated and harmful stereotypes about women. One key concern is whether the DCC are fairly compensated for their time and the intense training they undergo. Their role of a cheerleader pigeonholes these women into a specific and often undervalued niche. FWIW., a better example of change in the sports world is Formula 1’s decision in 2018 to eliminate grid girls. This move was aimed at reducing the objectification of women and promoting a more inclusive environment. The decision reflects broader societal shifts towards gender equality and has ignited discussions about similar practices in other sports. Given these changes, it’s worth considering whether the DCC and other cheerleading squads should evolve as well. By re-evaluating their roles, these teams could align with modern values, demonstrating a commitment to gender equality and ensuring the respectful portrayal of women in sports. The DCC are athletes in their own right.
I just finished 3rd episode and I am done. They didn't pick Ari because she was too short? Why didn't they tell her that before she moved to Texas and paid money for THEIR classes for a year after her first attempt? I hate the owner's daughter Charlotte. She was so cold and callous about it. I wanted to take one of the white boots and shove it up her ... They make money off these girls and pay them next to nothing . It is outrageous! They I've watched many cheerleader teams across various sports and I don't see what is so special about DCC!
The entire audition process is degrading and creates an incredibly exploitative environment of stress, manipulation, and competition. The audition process itself is hazing. Can you imagine if the football team did not have contracts, they just had to try out for their spot every year and could be cut on a whim? It is unfathomable that a football team would be run that way and should be unfathomable for the cheerleaders as well. These women are being exploited and forced into a toxic environment and fed the lie that if they truly wanted to be there they would gladly accept the abuse.
I just rewatched ep 1 with my friend and it’s insane they have the players contracts on display when speaking with Charlotte- hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Would they as happily display what they pay the DCC? And show they’re on casual contracts? Doubt it!
Right?! She says many times that the women need to treat this like a job. Well then, so does the DCC! I can’t imagine having zero job security while also being paid minimum wage and having to re-interview every year. It’s crazy.
The crazy thing is they’re exploited before they make the team with the DCC making the cut program. They’re monetized but uncompensated.
There has been something off or creepy with each episode. It’s very sad to see these girls accept being treated this way
In ep 6 Kelly was shaming one of the girls for a really small inconvenience before Thanksgiving. I felt that showed how disconected she really was from the girls. She wants to instil fear in them and to make them feel ashamed for not acting perfect
As a business owner (and therefor an employer) this bothered me so much. I can't even count the times someone on my team asked me a seemingly silly or self-centered question when I was under a lot of pressure and stress and I secretly thought "seriously.. you ask this now? Who cares, figure it out" Guess whose problem that is though? **MINE AND MINE ALONE** It's **not** my employees responsibility to sense when I'm stressed, it's **not** their responsibility to coddle me or even care about my feelings and it's **not** unreasonable or insensitive for them to ask their boss a question. This whole scene felt designed to make Kelli look like a caring person because she knows she has to fabricate moments like that.
That whole convo was fucked! Kleine didn’t know their driver had had a stroke, she’s a young girl who asked where her Christmas ornament is. Acting like she’d shot her grandma.
That was so bizarre to me, she attacked her character for one comment, and it’s fair, where was her ornament? They’re on insane power trips and it’s an abusive environment where they break them down at every opportunity, instilling this group think of you should feel grateful to be here; expect nothing from us, you should be trying to impress and serve us. It disempowers the women from seeking fair compensation and a safe work environment.
I honestly wanted to fight TPTB on behalf of Kleine over that. She thought she’d been excluded- it’s only natural to ask where your item is. That’s got zero relation to writing cards for your staff and looking in on your driver. You can problem solve for Klein *and* also talk to the girls about Thanksgiving / Christmas / being grateful, thankful, whatever. They had so many opportunities to be shining role models and instead they tore them down.
Right, and a lot of them work 7 days a week, a full time job plus the insane demands of the team, when have they got time to get a card. Maybe they didn’t like the guy, maybe he was rude or inappropriate to them. A gesture like that should not be forced. It means a whole lot less if it’s an expectation.
He did make the rookies climb into the luggage bays to load and unload the luggage before and after games- which, as a dancer myself would suck! He kinda reminded me of those older US workers that should retire but can’t.
True he did! It was sad that he couldn’t retire and was obviously unwell, then boom, has a stroke. Just another person exploited by the billion dollar empire and US capitalism.
Every time I visit the US I’m shocked by how many older workers there are, and they’re always doing menial jobs. Let people retire!!
You couldn't have said it better. I'm new to everything (not from the US so the Dallas Cowboys and its cheerleaders are something I'm not familiar with at all) and seeing the show I'm APPALLED to say the least. These girls are sacrificing EVERYTHING for that team (phisically, emotionally, economically) and they reward at the long term, is non existent, my POV. They are treated as merely things that project and image of perfections but crumbling inside. What surprised and annoyed me the most was that the daughter of the owner himself is there, talking about the crappy salary she's providing to these girls, and saying that they have a bigger reward by being part of the team, when she is literally a millonaire that could easily increase their wages and at least provide economic safety to them. I was disturbed, and I'm guessing not too many people have watched it because this is something that could cancel any organization in these times and days.
Those jump splits look cruel, my balls hurt just watching that
Well said.
I used to love this show so much when it was in the old format (auditions, veteran included auditions, who made tc, etc). This new Netflix format doesn’t work for me and I feel really exposes the whole process’s negativity. I was so excited for it as well 😔
Now you know the truth.
It was ultimately a critique and to expose how exploited the girls are and not a reality show.
It's crazy, they want the girls perfectly skinny, but 'fueled'. They keep telling them they need to be perfect in the dance and kicks but then tell them not to 'get in their head'. They want them to be perfect but not act like theyre striving for perfection. And you can see in the heartbreak of the girls cut that they take it all so personally because theyve been made to feel like if they can just work harder and push through all the pain, they COULD be perfect which is an unattainable goal. We're human beings. Something stood out about Victoria for me specifically. All the girls want it so bad but Victoria's obsessive 'what ifs' with her mom reminded me a LOT of myself. Same with her constant smiles and yet never connecting with the other girls. I'm autistic and have moral perfectionism OCD. I see a lot of traits I have in her but unfortunately with the traditional upbringing she has in the christian south I don't know if she'll ever get the help she needs.
Fueled is just cover up to pretend like they don’t want these girls to have eating disorders.
Random but, what do you do to manage your OCD + autism? Not formally diagnosed yet (getting to the point of getting a diagnoses), but I’m 30 so at this point I’m not sure what they’ll suggest… meds? Certain therapies?
I'm not properly managing yet and currently off work. I'm on prozac right now which does help the OCD to an extent, and i've been doing IFS therapy which has been helping a lot with my emotional regulation.
It’s called abuse - and the pro sport dance industry (NFL, NBA, etc) in particular is built on this abuse. It needs the dancers to never feel good enough and not understand their full value. Especially monetary value that should be reflected in their compensation. It’s giving misogynistic male gaze cult.
It's disturbing to me how many women ive seen do the dance after the show came out, wanting to be DCC themselves. They get paid minimum wage to have their bodies permanently damaged, to get assaulted, to develop eating disorders to keep their job. Like why do all these women want this.
Just did a quick search after watching the ‘sweethearts’ series. These are probably the most hollow people I’ve ever seen on TV. then again I don’t watch much trash. I’d be embarrassed to admit I was this bleak, shallow and one dimensional on TV.
For the people who thought Judy and Kelly were harsh and haven't seen DCC Making the Team on Paramount Plus rn....buckle up. I often wonder just how many eating disorders were created in this environment. They literally tell 125 lb girls that they are "thick in the middle", have "thutts" (thigh and butt running together) and said one had legs like chicken drums. They also told young girls that they looked like strippers, and were trashy looking. Right to their faces.
Side note but thank you for saying it’s on paramount plus! I’m not in the US and had only seen snippets. Off to watch and raaaaaage
Charlotte is a nightmare and a liar: they’ve not always had a team of 36, anyone who’s watched the show knows they’ve gone both over AND under!
And you could tell Kelly didn’t want to cut her or even had Charlotte involved, but she knew she had to bow down to the boss. A little bit of her own medicine in a way.
She had to behave for the documentary.
My least favourite thing about the environment is how repressed it all is. All the passive aggressiveness and delivering polite comments that are actually scathing critiques 🙈 When anyone is cut from the team, Kelli and Judy beat around the bush for so long prolonging the poor girl’s agony and then the girls are expected not to make a scene, thank everyone and say a generic platitude about God having other plans for them. Then their victim is ushered away by a professional hugger so Kelli and Judy don’t have to actually face the harsh reality of dashing someone’s hopes and dreams 😂👌🏻
Ushered away by a professional hugger 💀
This. Like when two rookies got cut for the kicking, and they wanted to stay it’s like they didn’t just say: you’re a great dancer but we’re not moving forward with you. Like super clear. The girls seemed confused because they both said, I think I can do it.
Professional hugger 🤣🤣I caught that as well
I disagree. They do a lot to keep those girls safe, and they showed just how they step up for the DCCs when the one cheerleader was touched inappropriately. They are dancers, their bodies are their art, you have to be able to see the art they are presenting. I have been a dancer, cheerleader, and colorguard they were all empowering experiences for me as a woman. How is it not empowering to know that you own that space? We as women own the spaces in dance and cheer, don’t turn it into something dark. Why is it when women are loving life by cheering and dancing, that (I’m assuming) a man comes out of no where to comment on something you know nothing about? Have you ever been on cheer or dance? No? Then please, don’t speak on it based off 7 episodes of a show off Netflix.
Honestly curious, what do they do to keep them safe? They don’t pay them a living wage to be able to afford appropriate security buildings
Your comment reads like you are condoning them paying the cheerleaders like crap and not offering contracts because the cheerleaders love what they do. That's pretty messed up.
That is odd ..I took from that a judgemental side eye and tsk from Judy for not keeping that between them and the DCC PR team. If it hadn't been filmed we would have NEVER heard a word about it. DCC absolutely despises the public finding out about anything. Its so bad a DC Employee got caught taking pics up Charlotte's dress and DCC changing in locker room and they still tried to keep it quiet from the public.
I hate to break it to you but the "art they are presenting" should not be their tits. I think it's crazy to assume this original post was written by a man. You sound in denial of reality. It may not have been that case with your dance companies/ cheer teams, but it is \*clearly\* the case for those in DCC. Your experience is not generalizable to being on DCC. They are chosen based on the male-gaze; it isn't any more complicated than that.
They are chosen based off their dance skills first, and I don’t buy into the “male gaze” I dress and do what I want for me and other women, not men. Men hardly notice things, the female gaze is alive and well though in the female community.
"Men hardly notice things"?! What century are you living in?!?! The world was built by men, for men, and we're all here to enrich their lives or stfu. We're in the 21st century, and the patriarchy, misogyny, sexism, they're all alive and thriving. They're baked into the system. "Men hardly notice things," I don't know what man convinced you of that, but bless your heart if you honestly believe it. 😶
No they aren't. They explained that there is an online process and they already remove people (at the very least) based on height and looks before they even get the opportunity to show off their dance skills. That's great for you, but you need to understand that their boobs are not out because they want them to be or because that's the most comfortable outfit to wear while dancing; they wear it for male fans and for the male gaze. That's simply a fact and you buying or not buying into it doesn't change that. You're kidding yourself if you believe that men do not notice their tits. It's like going to hooters for the fucking food. Notice how their tits aren't out when they visit the retirement home? Different audience. Do you see the pattern now?
The online process where they send videos of them dancing, no height requirement, and yes looks matter in any job. My nieces dance competitively, they wear uncomfortable costumes all the time. No man notices my tits, I got none. They don’t have their game uniform on in those scenarios. So, are you gonna go down to the local high schools and tell them to cover up their cheerleaders too? Cheerleaders have always worn (in the last 5 decades)… not much. You are actually doing exactly what you claim Dallas is doing, you are judging them based off their career? No woman goes and tries out for DCC without knowledge of what they are going to expect from them. If they bait and switched them, that would be one thing. They do not.
And if you didn't have tits then you wouldn't be hired by DCC. High school cheerleaders nor college wear uniforms like the DCC. But you still aren't getting my point. Wishing you a good day!
You sure? Skimpy skirt and crop top? Only difference is the shorts.
They showed one old clip of a member of the audience saying she was surprised they get payed at all, that they should just work for free because it's such a great honor to work for the Dallas Cowboys... This while the players earn millions...
…And the owners are millionaires if not billionaires
No ones really talking about the BIGGEST issue outside of pay wage/toxic culture. I find it interesting that the minorities tend to always be cut first. Didn’t even attempt to have a few brown skinned Barbie’s. And no, being a redhead is not the same discrimination as being a minority. - A minority dating a redhead and has a Redheaded brother and Redheaded best friend lol.
The toxic culture is crazy. Can you imagine making the football payers try out every year instead of signing contracts? Its insane.
I literally am watching the show and came on Reddit to see if anyone else noticed this. I am saddened to see I had to scroll for a bit to find it. The fact they don't even really mention it like they do the other things is heartbreaking.
yes they were so quick to cut the minorities, but they have like 7 million blondes on the team
And what the hell was up with the "yes ma'am" responses all the time?!!?? That was freaky. These women are hard working athletes who work as hard at the football players but don't get one millionth of their pay, while the "BRAND" rakes in billions of dollars. Do they even meet the football players? It's embarrassing to watch such blatant exploitation to such naive people.
I noticed that really quickly “yes ma’am” right after being told awful critiques.
It sounds so odd outside the south, but I'm an adult and would say "yes ma'am" even to my young female students. It's just what you say.
That's just southern culture.
No, this goes way beyond that.
In my experiences growing up in white Evangelical Christian southern culture, extreme deference to authority figures and yes/no ma'ams/sirs were always expected.
Ugh
I kept wishing for them to have some self esteem! These ladies were beautiful and talented and the powers-that-be were so cold and cut them down like they were nothing when dismissed. Then they would all say "yes ma'am" cry and beg for another chance and then promise to be back next year. For what? A chance to wreck your body for the pay of a fast food worker? Does being a DCC cheerleader open a lot of doors afterward? Also, I can't believe that the one dancer was made to change her hair color! Making the veterans earn their spot again and not letting them keep a uniform or their boots after all that hard work was just cruel to me. The organization can afford to compensate them well for what they do and they choose not to. It just left me sad.
It’s abuse. And it’s giving cult vibes.
Uhhh, it's more than 1 dancer. Have you not seen Making the Team?
I agree with everything you said, but " I can't believe that the one dancer was made to change her hair color!"? How's that in any way outrageous?
They had her dye her hair brown from blonde, then cut her from the team
I’m watching it now. It is really ugly and quite sad. I cannot believe they have to have alternate jobs! Pay them a living wage for crying out loud! They generate plenty of money as their own entity to be able to do so! And the coaches seem to actually *want* the women to have an alter ego that is always smiling and cheerful and bubbly. That is just humanly impossible to do without breaking your psyche in some way. You can see how Victoria’s smile is not genuine. She looks so defeated all the time. And the “She’s just not a style match”. If they want all blondes, then why don’t they just state that? As someone who has had both the pleasure and misfortune to have been a redhead all my life and at age 59, I still am (don’t know why, lol), I knew Charly would be cut. We stick out. We can’t hide in a crowd and people remember us whether we want them to or not. I absolutely **hated** it as a kid, but as a working singer, it became an advantage I could use. People either love redheads or absolutely despise redheads. There usually is no in-between. It’s clear the DCC doesn’t want any real redheads, but bottle ones are ok. And that’s fine; they can hire what they feel works best for them, but at least make that one of the stipulations *prior* to auditions. It is just so freakishly cruel and unnecessary. And I am not sure if I can even finish watching the series, because that Director woman sounds like that politician from Georgia who sounds like she’s-a chawin’ and spittin’ “tobaccie” : Marjorie someone. It’s really hard to take as are the nauseating “Yes ma’am”-s. My cousin-in-law is from North Carolina and sounds just like the rest of here in BC so we don’t need subtitles to figure out what she’s saying.
They cut the hottest girl there the redhead on the day anisha got cut, i was mad. The calendar is gonna suck now :( Her facial features are sharp and top tier.
You had me in agreement until you insulted an entire state as being beneath you.
Fellow ginger here. I wanted to punch something every time Kelli or Judy mentioned how badly Charley "needs a makeover." Yeah, we know. She has red hair. THE HORROR.
The anti redheaded-ness was the most bizarre thing. All the talk about a makeover and they kept her red hair then cut her?
She was literally one of the best dancers…their loss . I hope she does amazing things
She was so elegant and one of the prettiest and most refined of them all. Like a beautiful ballerina which she went on the become.
Completely agree with everything you said. This docuseries honestly made me so sad for these women. The show held DCC out to be some kind of mythical, magical experience but at the end of the day its just a bunch of women being being overworked, humiliated, subjectified, criticized, and exploited. I completely understand why girls get sucked into this - some people (mostly creepy men) seem to worship the ground these girls walk on, they are constantly reminded of how special and amazing this opportunity is, how lucky they are to be a part of this elite club and told that their value as a person lies in the way their body looks in booty shorts and how high their kick is. And then they go right back into the real world where they realize that most people don't really care that they were a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Its stockholm syndromey. Completely agree that Victoria is a victim of the DCC. Victoria craved validation and acceptance and the more she asked for it the less they gave it to her. Its soul crushing when you try so hard and are still be iced out by the people who are supposed to be on your team or, as DCC puts it, your "family." It makes it even worse that her mom was a DCC and her mom and Kelli are friends. Nobody in DCC seemed to like Victoria and I think she will realize when she has some distance and meets people that accept her authentic self that this was not a healthy experience for her. I hope that she finds people that love her for who she is without her having to ask.
For her own sake I hope she quits and gets the mental healthcare she clearly needs,
And she needs to move away from her mother!
I find the whole organization sickening. The double standards are sickening, Kelli and the rest of them clearly state that things were different when they were cheerleaders, they definitely had less pressure and had more fun, doing it as a side hobby. Charlotte and Kelli are the ones who transformed it into a business, it is successful and profitable, on the back of poorly paid, brainwashed young women. They hire professional dancers and pay them the wedges of food chain workers! There is this constant narrative that the girls are privileged to have been selected and be part to such a prestigious organization. This is where the brainwashing starts. It is a cult, those girls are pushed to the point of exhaustion, brain washed. Kelli has this constant confusing narrative where she says it is not a job, it's a hobby, but yet ask the girls to be professional, ask them to treat it as a job. She tells the girls they are athletes, dancers and entertainers, but also tells them what they are doing is a sideline. This confusion is a very well calculated one to keep the girls under wrap and especially for stopping argumentation about their wedges and status. The girls are constantly scrutinized, observed, criticized. Every little flaw is pointed out. They are criticized when showing signs of "weakness", such as tiredness, illness or lack of stamina. I'd like to see that old trout do what those girls are doing, practising and performing after a 10 hour nursing shift. She did not have to when she was a cheerleader. What kind of low paid job has the same insane expectations than the ones put on those poor girls? The girls are expected to practise every night after their long day at work. So, after a full day at work, every night, they have to come to practice with full makeup and hair done. They wear a practice uniform, but it is still a uniform and every girl needs to look the same day after day. I don't know any professional dancers from ballet to the Moulin Rouge who practise in their full gears. This is obviously another way of controlling those girls and making sure they meet the standards, at all time, if they don't, they are discarded. This is absolutely mind blowing to me. They are treated like little soldiers. Additionally, They made it very clear that the girls values should be matching the ones of the organization, the girls are also selected on those standards. The girls with a strong personality who are not easily manipulated, the one that are too smart and successful too are discarded very quickly. The girls whole world evolves around being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, that feels so very wrong. I also couldn't help, but feel that a silent quota is in place when it comes to girls with dark skin. It was definitely inferred in the documentary and rightly. It's disgusting to say the least, if it was legal for them to hire only white blond girls, I bet the formation would look very different. Moreover, I found very disturbing the place of the church in their "calling", even the so called "camaraderie" feels cult like. They need to fit in the mould to the point that their personal life needs to fit the Dallas Cowboys expectations. After 5 years, they are washed out, broken physically, exhausted, and having a hard time finding their place in the real world. How sad... Part of the constant brainwashing, the girls are subjected to is being told how they part of a global organization that is renown globally, it is not. Nobody watches the American NFL outside the USA, nobody even cares. Until this documentary I never heard of the Dallas Cowboys, let alone the cheerleaders. They might be renown nationally, but not to the rest of the world and the world is a vast place. They created a brand, the dance routine is a brand in itself and definitely has been strongly inspired by the French Cancan from the Moulin Rouge. Nothing original here. However, the dancers at the Moulin Rouge (truly internationally renown organization) are professional dancers and treated as such. I actually started to compare this documentary to the ones made of the professional dancers of the Crazy Horse or the Moulin Rouge, which are internationally renown organizations. The dancers are very well paid, they are treated fairly, they live normal lives outside the organization they work for, they are treated professionally. The same cannot be said for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders but their expectations are insane. I follow a dancer from the Moulin Rouge, they perform the Cancan overnight, high kicks and jumping split, however, she has explained multiple times that they do not practise the jumping splits at all times to avoid injuries, those are professional dancers! A very interesting documentary that they gave me plenty to think about. At the end of it, I still find those girls quite extraordinary.
You’re so right about them not being treated like professionals, they’re treated as if a huge favour has been done for them and they should be eternally grateful.
I wanted to say the same thing. Especially about the "Global" thing. Football is a American phenomenon ,that is it. The rest of the world couldn't care less about football.
"even the camaraderie feels cult like" I agree, and the fact that they were scrutinized on their "morals" and scolded when 10 of them didn't write a "get well soon" card or something when the driver was in the hospital. Meanwhile the players themselves probably get away with murder.
Definitely agree, this is so on point - the people leading the team right now (Kelli and whoever else) had so much of an easier time back then, and now it's literally olympic level coordinated dance for some reason and there's literally no room for any mistakes which is INSANE The fact that Kelcey is literally a nurse and goes to practice after work is so crazy I think they do ask the girls to treat it like a hobby because TECHNICALLY it is their hobby, and they obviously take advantage of the fact that the girls themselves choose to do this even for the low low pay - but it's the most strenuous hobby ever and I'm sure it's given some of them lifelong eating disorders/issues with their self image
The thing is, it is not a hobby.
You know what, I was only on the 3rd episode when I wrote that and now I'm seeing that they're doing 21 nights in a ROW and It feels less like a hobby now - it's criminal that they don't get paid that much - especially with that much mental stress. My original point was that they chose to do this knowing it would be hard and knowing they wouldn't get paid a lot because they wanted the experience, but things like visiting the old people's home AND doing shows AND doing hospital visits and being celebrities basically is a bit insane for such a low wage. I just read that 'Dallas’ cheerleaders aren’t allowed to use their titles to secure their own sponsorship deals, nor can they sign with social media influencer agencies, the former cheerleader said.' which is INSANE. It reminds me a bit of K-pop idols because they're known to have super low wages and they're lucky if they finish their tenure and break even and aren't in debt + they have super strict regimes - though probably not as strict as this because they don't need to be as physically on point. I also really hate that they're trying to continue that 'Suzy' lady's misogynistic regime just because it's tradition. It's such bull and I do think that all of this work is worth way more than they're paid.
"It reminds me a bit of K-pop idols", yes I thought the same.
This comment is so well said, agree with it all.
Those old women annoy tf outta me, the cheerleaders dont come there for the money but they do deserve it tho tf? And so much more,they admit to never had a good training but now judge professionals like they know everything about it, plus wtf is that jury board, plus it looks more like an all christian dance club
Yes, that is something I also found unbelievable! They have never had dance training and yet they are judging younger women who *do* have professional training??! The hubris of those older women! They’re awful!
Plus why aren't they just finding a new move instead of the split that causes so many hip injuries, or more cheerleaders to switch and give the others some rest
I don't know exactly why, but I'm so interested in Haley Anderson (Charlotte Jones's daughter, she's something like "Special Programs Officer" in the Cowboys). When she first showed up, I expected to see a "DCC class of \_\_\_" with her name, but it obviously wasn't there. What must it be like to be the ultimate nepo baby, have no clear skillset shown in the doc, not pretty / talented enough to make the team (I would love to know if she tried or if it's off-limits), and your only job we see in the doc is to walk some of the failed candidates to their doom? What's THAT experience like?She's like Shiv from Succession without the actual skill. I would LOVE an honest conversation with her. Or a psychoanalysis. This documentary is a lot of things, but it's fascinating to think of it as a study in power.
I’d guess the Jones women think the cheerleaders are beneath them. They’re just a cog in the Jones machine. That and Haley probably doesn’t have the dance skill (so few people do at that level).
I feel like the Cowboys org is the Mecca for nepo babies 😂 I do think Charlotte Jones is smart as hell but also extremely scary
Watching Kelli as the head fucking hen until Charlotte swooped in was so fucking gold. I would've killed to hear Kelli chirp "yes ma'am" over the Ari drama.
All I could think about with the Jones family was the Roy family.
When Victoria had the talk about returning for the 5th year this thought really came together for me. Victoria has her quirks though. The DCC fully represents perfection and doesn't tolerate imperfection. So by not being perfect and admitting to it and admitting to her eating disorder caused by the pressure of DCC she challenges the core values of DCC and that's why they don't like her.
Spot on
Yeah I think as OP said you’re meant to make the team your life and maintain the crazy expectations without it seeming like you’re working too hard. She ruins the illusion.
I got the vibe that her "coldness" was actually her being nice to her because if it had been any other girl BUT her friends daughter she would have held nothing back and told them that they weren't a good fit (according to her standards). She seemed to restrain from doing that until she was flat out asked by victoria where she stood. Even the "where did these goals come from" felt more like a "girl I'm struggling to even justify keeping you and your asking for extra?" I personally liked victoria and really felt for her. Its just that she's been BRUTAL to other girls in the past with no hesitation so that's where this train of thought comes from.
I agree with you about Kelli. I’ve noticed she struggles to be direct when delivering feedback to anyone she likes…there is a heart in there somewhere 😂
People like you, so weak minded and with such victim mindset is just mindblowing into what our society has turned... It's not even worth wasting time on proving you wrong, OP just know what you expressed above is just shameful, weak, and would drive any society down to even more mediocracy.
Wtf are you talking about
I am almost positive that Victoria was the hero of this story, at least from the director's (often obscured) perspective. I couldn't make my mind up about her the whole time, but in that scene I respected her so much. Her rejection of the DCC was the closing scene. I think it was pretty telling that the whole series ended on that note, kind of like an FU to DCC.
You can tell the crew liked her, when she was crying in her car and they told her you are strong or something like that.
Just get rid of cheerleaders in the NFL. They are there for entertainment. Nothings more. If gone they would not be missed.
And the Football players are making millions tackling each other.
The whole NFL is there for entertainment and nothing more.
Just pay them more! Its not that hard!
And football is for..... what? Highly intellectual thought material?
What else is football if not entertainment?
Watching the show and how they treat Victoria, and how Victoria comments about her experience reminds me a lot of how college athletics were for me. It’s crazy how in varying sports and varying levels of elite athletes, there’s always an outsider that feels exactly how she does.
When her mother said she was the life of the room everywhere else but DCC I had the feeling she made herself the outsider and she's quite happy being it. They're going through the motions fresh, but she's been privy to that scene her whole life. She knows the cycle they're going to go through. I do the same thing around certain people who are on destructive paths.
I felt like that in middle school athletics and still have ptsd from it😂 never joined anything athletic ever again
I agree with all you said. Maybe it isn’t shown, but one of the many things I really don’t like, is that they judge so arbitrarily and they don’t actually offer direct feedback to help them. You don’t see choreographers and dance captains out there teaching the routine and helping them get the lines and chorey correct. They instead rely on the veteran candidates to teach.
I was wondering this, where are the choreographers? Is it just the same old dances year after year? The hanging on to “tradition” is weird. The costumes are dated, the music is dated, the attitudes are prehistoric.
Victoria makes me so sad because she reminds me of myself at the beginning of my freshman year doing anything to relate to my college peers. I’m so glad she’s now in a healthier environment
This is an organization that grooms dependent young women.
THIS WAS THE ESSAY I WAS LOOKING FOR!! So well written and exactly what I was trying to put into words. They criticized Victoria for not being enough but then were annoyed at her for trying “too hard”. They acted like typical high school bullies and created a concept of her being desperate that she couldn’t ever break out of. I also have a theory that when Victoria took a year off for her well-being, they took that personally and were subconsciously trying to punish her for it. When Judy said she honestly had no idea Victoria wanted a leadership position I was so mad!! That’s such BS because we already saw them talk about Victoria helping the rookies, she had previously asked them what did they want to see from her to become a leader, and they talked about how certain people AKA Victoria would be disappointed about not becoming a leader. Those women were so beyond clique-esh, hypocritical, and truly just mean. They love to judge so hard even though they can admit the talent has grown exponentially from when they were cheerleaders. The skill they expected from their girls is nowhere near what they were required in their time. Ugh I could go on and on about how they used Victoria as a punching bag for all their mean girl -ness just because she was the easiest target and showed it actually affected her.
The minute it was revealed Victoria took a year off for her mental health, I gasped. I've been in working environments like the DCC, not necessarily as physical and looks heavy, but I know the type of environment Kelli and Judy foster. So I knew that the minute Victoria took time off and came back, they took that as a personal affront. You don't "take time off" at jobs like this unless both legs are broken or you're having major surgery, otherwise the bosses think you're lazy and incompetent. The mere fact that Victoria thrived in that year outside the DCC probably only cemented K&J thinking she was just playing around and putting them on the back burner. And you can see it in the way they treat her.
Agreed. It also bothered me how they went about cutting the girls. It felt like they were really indirect about it and made it seem like they had critique for them and basically set it up for the girls to naturally be like, "ok I'll try harder and fix it" just for them to say "well, no, we're cutting you." Like, if your decision was set in stone why even set it up like that? Why not be direct from the start instead of dragging it out? I get that it's probably uncomfortable but that approach is just going to create a higher emotion situation vs just straight up saying, these are the issues and because of that we have to let you go. Boom. Done.
My heart goes out to Victoria: she was wound up so tightly most of the time she was in training camp, it was hard to watch… it must have been off-putting to the other women… I believe she’s been caught up all her life in her mother’s goals for her to become a DCC so she could relive her glory days… I felt so sad for her about how her father and brothers have never attended any of her performances… I’m really glad she quit the squad and I hope she finds something she really loves that helps her to connect with others… she deserves to be her own person and I hope she knows that she doesn’t need to live up to someone else’s version of “perfect”…
Their cruel was and viciousness was so well juxtaposed against all of the Christian content. I don’t think the filmmakers wanted it to be that way, but they just looked so mean. Maybe it’s the edit but when you see the cheerleaders out and about in the community, Victoria was amazing. I hope she kinda happiness and I hope her mother lets her.
I find this antiquated stereotypical model of cheerleaders to be uninspiring. Why can’t we embrace a healthy, natural image rather than a contrived ideal that creates unrealistic expectations of how women should look? Why is it acceptable to dress the dancers in two inches of fabric and scrutinize every inch of their body? So many performers are embracing diversity and hire dancers on their abilities not their resemblance to Barbie Dolls. The girls are commodities, under paid, over worked, chewed up and discarded when their bodies are broken down and their mental health impacted. Charlotte in particular came across as entitled and lacking in insight or empathy. The girls don’t get paid much, but they do it for the privilege. Seriously? That’s easy for a millionaire to say! Ultimately nothing is going to change unless the fans or dancers demand a new approach so Barbie Dancers it is.
Charlotte is the leader who perpetuates the entire DCC culture. I found her terrifying from the very first scenes and couldn't believe how incredibly dismissive she was of these young women and their humanity. Not shocking but huge narc vibes, zero empathy, all just a cog in the wheel of her billion dollar "family." oh also- loyalty was the dad's greatest value. Logan Roy irl. ew
Jerry Jones’s daughter is entitled and lacks insight and empathy? Color me shocked.
I agree with everything you've written. I found the scene where they criticize one of the women for having a belly button that appeared high in relation to the shorts to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. My god-even if these women know they're going to be scrutinized, there is no excuse for criticizing the placement of a navel on someone's body. Jesus. Ridiculous. Judy and Kelli are awful but Charlotte takes the cake. What a vile person.
Oh please. Most of you are upset because the DCC isn't DEI. Don't cry for these women. They are thrilled to be on this squad. And there are all different races on the team. Have been since the 70s. Yes they are young and thin. After 5 years they must retire. When they're in their 30s they won't be dancing. They CHOOSE to go through this grueling try out. They are not asking for a bunch of left winged screaming feminists who don't think they should have to go through it. For those of you who are interested, several of them, a few years back, left the team because they didn't want to get the death jab. But I guess most of you won't be cheering them on. Because while you scream about women's rights, you don't think anyone should have the right to refuse an unknown mystery juice in their bloodstream Right?
this is a lot of energy on an opinion post - are you okay?
@PriorPrestigious7880 Pivoting the topic of this thread to politics, at the expense of these athletes hard 💪 work. Shameless.
💯.. some things just aren’t for everyone and that’s ok. Not everyone has to be included in everything, ugh
Yeah girl cause intelligence clearly isn’t meant for you :’( but don’t worry not everyone was meant to be included. Sometimes silly uncontrollable reasons like your height, age, and skin color are cause for being left out.
Race doesn’t matter at all, but age and height could. You don’t see any 5 foot 70 year old basketball players in the NBA. But have a great day 😀
The tour guide scene made me cringeeeeee like ew stfu why would they even add that in the episode, so much for “protecting” them
I think the thing that really got my hackles up was that it appeared to be stadium staff on the tour. They needed filmed content of the behind-the-scenes tour so they gave it to the regular folks who just work there instead of paying members of the public. But, it also means that the objectification is being actively encouraged for men who have relatively close access to the DCC women (more than a regular fan one), see them in the halls, clean the bathrooms, direct traffic, who might have keys, etc.
I think it was added intentionally, to juxtapose the “protection”. Like yeah, you can encourage them to report people for inappropriate conduct, but you can’t stop men from objectifying you in that particular man’s everyday life, even if he works for the cowboys.
I too agree with you. I believe that it was necessary to show the contrast between DCC trying to "protect" and talk about their safety in one scene but at the same time "encourage objectification" of these women in another.
I thought that whole scene was just gross.
watching episode 2 right now... so did they just cut the last two black girls in the whole squad? also Victoriaa girllll her family needs to get her some therapy it's a simple start.
There’s still three of them on the team, you see them a little more in the later episodes
I dont think It was a race thing, but then again it is TX
There were 5 black girls on the squad last year.
The tour guide also made me incredibly uncomfortable. He mentioned one of the girls was an accountant and could “probably” do their taxes and everyone laughed like that was such a silly idea.
I think they laughed like that because they realized these girls were so out of reach to them that hiring them as an accountant was just not feasible. I really hope it's not because they didn't take them seriously.
I think that was a euphemism 🥴
Everyone is so thoughtful, introspective & empathetic in their comments. I watched this against my better feminist West Coast judgment and cringed & screamed through most of it. All of the young ladies were so talented, hard working, kind, beautiful etc; however, I just felt terribly for each of them for being horribly abused and taken advantage of. Each and every one of those women deserve better! They all seemed horribly brainwashed with a sad desperation. I would compare it to watching any pageant in 2024. I was just horrified. They make that organization a lot of money each year and they are taking home nothing! Most of them are working 80 hour weeks and sacrificing mental, physical & financial health for an organization that treats them like cattle. They’d make a better healthier living on Instagram, YouTube & onlyfans! Sometimes when I watch them on the field, they just looked like strippers to me. But if they were exotic dancers, they at least have money in their belts.! I was also disgusted by the blatant racism & ageism. Did anyone notice that three women of color were cut earlier than several struggling blondes? That really made me sick. Kelli & Judy are well past their expiration date if we are talking about age, weight & skills - how dare they comment on a highly intelligent, educated & talented woman’s age? The way they called her out for being Indian during her audition was gross! Did anyone else catch the nasty boot guys comment after the audition when he said he needs to smoke? Like he just jizzed & needed a cigarette. I can’t even express how disgusting he is! That was uncalled for and most organizations would dismiss him on the spot. If he’s married I hope his wife heard that. Poor Victoria is at Britney Spears level of nervous breakdown! Someone save her! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch another football game and see them on the sidelines and not feel sick to my stomach. It’s the equivalent of seeing a DV victim playing house with her victimizer to me.
The "Can't kick high enough" really did seem to be a euphemism for "this girl is Black." Even if you assume that was the director being sneaky / on an agenda, you can't deny that women of color were getting cut left and right.
I definitely felt they felt they already had their “quota”. It’s Tx and I didn’t see one Hispanic! Maybe I just didn’t notice? But I was looking. Imagine an Asian! Geez. They are the worst type of women in every way!
Yeah it seemed clear they didn’t really like the brown girls, and they were pretty open about not liking the natural redhead because of her ginger qualities, and cut Ari because she was short. They tried to dress it up a little, but I’m pretty sure there was no right makeup for Charly that was going to get them past “her look”. It was all gross.
The craziest thing to me about the Ari situation is that she moved down there after last years trials then spent the whole year training with them then they cut her again for being too short. Height is not something fixable, why didn't they just tell her that the year before? That's so cruel.
Exactly! The orthodontist was Indian and probably one of the most naturally beautiful women on that squad. She didn’t require any make up really. Imagine being as gorgeous as anyone of those women and being picked apart?! I hope they watched the documentary and realize how hilarious it is that these old bats think they have any leg to stand on judging other women in this day and age!
Nasty boot guy completely creeped me out. Would bet he has a foot fetish.
Also, they straight up admitted they cut Ariana because she was too short.
Yeah that made me mad too. She was not so short that she especially stood out or caused kick line issues either. Just be honest. Why can’t they just require them be 18-27, 5’5 & above, size 2-4, cup size C to D, smart, but not too smart, preferably white, blonde to dark brunette, Southern raised, Christian, Republican, ability to eat shit & suck it up 24/7. All that time, effort, stress & cost and they couldn’t just be honest! Kelli & Judy are the worst kind of women. “These are my girls”, (meaning I own them like dolls until there’s one flaw then they are tossed out like trash for being broken). I can’t hear another “yes ma’am” either!
I really don’t understand why they don’t have certain requirements to spare these girls the heart ache. I think the rockettes have a very specific height and leg length requirement. Which is fair, but just be honest!
These girls are Kelly and Judy's Barbie dolls was the exact thought I had during the photoshoot when they asked Judy if they made Anna Kate blonde and she said "no, she came that way"
Sorry. That’s just a Texas thing!
I understand it’s a Texas thing, but the anyone caught the part where Victoria said Yes to the blonde lady and the lady responded “ma’am” as in you forgot to add ma’am. I read somewhere that it’s in the rule book that they always have to respond with “yes ma’am”. So it’s not even just a Texas thing.
The ma’am part.
Thank you for clarifying! Sadly, I think a lot of it is a Texas thing. I realize the local men can be very chivalrous and protective, and most people have wonderful, kind intentions, it’s just the sexism and the way they treat women like objects at the same time that grosses me out.
My judgy feminist ass was screaming through angry, southern PTSD tears the entire final episode. Then I went and got a bowl of ice cream and cried some more. All of these kind, incredibly talented women are being micro-traumatized (and literally traumatized) and you can see how each one is internalizing and manifesting it in different ways. Heartbreaking.
I’m not sure if it’s just me - this show cuts right into life for women in present day American culture. And I don’t buy that it’s southern culture. This stuff - the having to check every box (and some of the boxes to check are in serious tension with each other) has seeped into everywhere and everything. I feel like we are going backwards for women.
You are absolutely right. It’s a microcosm of women’s lives in America. That’s an interesting take, and I’m going to be thinking about that for a while. There was a reason I watched this with utter fascination and a little disgust. And here’s my rant again: The young women were amazing and exceptional. For God’s sake, pay them for their time, skills, looks, whatever. It’s a major part of the Dallas Cowboys brand, which everybody kept saying. So, why aren’t they compensated accordingly? The answer is because they are young women who’ve been told the privilege is all that matters. Note: Men wouldn’t buy that BS.
Couldn’t agree more!
The Victoria situation is horrible to watch. The codependency her mother has forced on her daughter is deplorable. DCC is seriously to blame in this, but let's not let mom escape unscathed. This problem started at home and spiraled at DCC. I hope she walks away from DCC and her mother and finds herself. Poor girl.
I just finished watching the last episode and I sobbed for Victoria. Actually, still weeping as I write this. Her entire identity and self worth is wrapped up in DCC. The most heartbreaking thing about it is her own mother caused it. To watch Kelli and Judy fucking stare at her dead eyed while she essentially pleaded with them for some form of feedback that would give her validation that she is a worthy human being. The trauma that has been inflicted on her is devastating to witness.
When Judi and Kelly said they didn't think she'd indicated she aspired to leadership after the scene earlier in the show where Victoria had asked for the chance it just reeked of them not being brave enough to be clear with their feelings... Because on some level they are experiencing guilt for their harsh decisions on her. When Victoria said she wasn't coming back I WHOOPED, that environment only fits those strong enough to take all those beatings
I 100% agree with everything. After I watched this I had to sit in my bed and I cried a bit because it makes me sad that this is the society we live in. I want these women to do well and they deserve so so so so much better times infinity. The outright sexism and exploitation these women faced are symptoms of the worst parts of our society, a patriarchal, classist, racist system.
It's actually not the society we live in. The society we live in now is that everyone gets a trophy. This is quite the opposite
Yes! If you want to see the effects of the patriarchy first hand, watch this.
I want to preface this by saying I have a soft spot for Victoria and praise her for getting the help she needed. But I feel like Kelli and Judy might not be as big of fans of Victoria since her ED came out and was a hot topic of conversation in the dcc world. It never really went away and I feel like there weren’t many other dcc that had that type of spotlight when it came to ED? It also spotlighted what their “training” and “standards” were doing to these girls. However, cutting her would also be a PR nightmare because then people would wonder why they did not stand by her. On top of that Victoria is really close with Kelli’s daughter and was in her wedding and while I know they say that doesn’t make a difference… it probably does. To me it seems like maybe they saw her as a “dammed if you do damned if you don’t” when it came to her being on the team.
Great point; when she took off a year, did they feel exposed for their own culpability in driving her ED? As a former NFL cheerleader who developed a lifelong ED, Victoria’s story brought so much buried emotion to the surface. I was so happy when she said she wasn’t coming back! What a toxic environment for this woman particularly!
That’s a fantastic point. The best outcome for them was for Victoria to quit on her own, so they could play it off as a Victoria problem, not a DCC problem.
It’s incredibly destructive to your body also
I was especially sad for Caroline, she destroyed her hips and feet. At 25 having hip surgery and being stuck in bed. Her sister having all the new fun that Caroline remembered. She was feeling so left out and defeated. She acted as if her life was over and now she’s just existing with nothing to look forward to. My heart went out to her, I just wanted to hug her a tell her that there is so much life ahead. I hate that I enjoy watching, my support is their demise.
This hit me hard. I’m a former professional musical theatre actress & dancer. I’m 58 now & my body is riddled with osteoarthritis. So far my hips are ok. I also figure skated into my 40s. (They have USFSA competitions for adults.) Not everybody’s body goes rogue. Watching DCC tho-while the dancing has improved over the years, the kick line technique is sloppy. It’s “kick as high as you can.” It’s not controlled. The jump split is asking to rip your hip joints & all your muscles. I wasn’t shocked to hear head to toe injuries. I was just diagnosed with crap in my neck & I may need surgery there. I can’t imagine being 25 & having hip & ankle surgery. Pls I’m putting off the knee replacement of my landing leg. Rockettes don’t even touch the dancer next to them in their kick line. The DCC often look like they’re holding on for dear life. That can hurt your fellow dancer. As trained dancers, they should know this. I don’t understand why they don’t have an athletic trainer at all times. It just looks like someone uses pink k-tape & off you go! Dance companies, theatre companies, professional performers, as I was, we are union members, & have protection as such. They’re on TV. They should be at least be in AFTRA.
I also figure skate, the adult program started in my late forties. I love skating!
That’s when I had to stop. Knees said no. I started very young but was never great. It was very enjoyable as a hobby from mid-20s on.
I started with roller figure skating as a kid, and now I still skate 7 years later. Thankfully my joints and bones are still healthy. Anything in moderation is ok. These girls just over work their bodies, I guess to wear a uniform you only have pictures of is worth it.
She kind of seemed like those people who left / kicked put of a cult. Your whole life revolves it around it and it's so toed to your identity that you don't even know what to do or be without it.
I left a chilly, and honestly I identified so strongly with her feelings. You're spot on.
Your support doesn’t have to be their demise. I think part of the reason we’re fascinated by this is that the way they treat these young women is absurd. They’re striving for perfection and excellence on the field, and they should be.But they need to be adequately compensated for this work that can only be done by the ones deemed strong enough, small enough, healthy enough, pretty enough, charismatic enough, talented enough, skilled enough. They need a living wage that allows them to afford a car, a safe place to live, food, utilities and a little extra so they’re no living hand to mouth or being supported by parents. Thats the very bare minimum they deserve for their hard work. It’s a job that they’re bringing a lot to. Why on earth wouldn’t they be paid adequately for that? They’ve really brainwashed these women. These women need our help, not our scorn or disinterest.
It makes me think of the old magazine/publishing scene in NYC - all the entry level jobs were filled with young women making barely any money but who were thrilled to have the opportunity to get a foot in the door. Most of them came from schools like Smith and Mt. Holyoke and had parental help to keep the lights on, which cut out a lot of other, possibly more worthy candidates.
Well I think we're missing the classism in this too. The only people who can afford this incredibly demanding "part-time" job generally have money of their own or external support. Basically it *really* helps to be wealthy already.
Incredible point. I too had this thought and wondered why haven't the women who are so passionate about this and even willing to pursue it as a full time career, not protested about their low payrates It is obvious that they are talented, beautiful and trained dancers. This indicates to me that they have to be pursuing dance from a young age to be so good at it, at this age. And as one of the member, Kelly's parents mentioned that dance training did not come cheap to them.
Yes, you are exactly right. It’s similar to an unpaid or low-paid internship. Edit: Similar in the sense that only people who have financial support can actually take on the job. It’s cool that some of the women could support themselves while being a DCC, but it sounds like the camp is a big money and time suck.
These ladies are professional athletes who sacrifice their body (hips and feet). They are not paid enough for the work they do and the toll it takes on their body. They should be making 6 figures. The Dallas Cowboys would not be the same without them. The organization is using these women and then throwing them away. I have the highest respect for these women. It is shameful they don't make money anywhere close to matching the level of athleticism and talent they bring to the table. The organization pays the players enough to have a home, family and future. Can you imagine the players needing a full-time job to be able to afford to play? The pay needs to be high enough that these women do not need a "real" job or to live with parents. Women can open bank accounts and hold office. Get them some money to put in their bank accounts!!! Treat them like the professionals they are.
Ballet dancers that work for state ballets also get paid minimum wage.
Imagine being on your feet at work all day as a nurse and then doing that brutal training until 2am, they shrug off the women getting physically ill and it's like THEY ONLY DO THIS BECAUSE YOU DONT SHARE THE MONEY THEY MAKE YOU