Can We Use the Term 'Fag Hag' These Days?

As anyone who has ever read this blog in the past knows SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is one of my most favorite shows on television, and only one of the few reality shows I actually watch. I don’t often blog about it because there are so many bloggers out there doing such a wonderful job of keeping everyone posted about what is happening that, well, I figured I didn’t need to lend my voice to the throng, and since each of us have our favorites, well…there just isn’t any reason for me to add to the hype. This past week, however, something happened that made me so very angry and upset that I have vented to my husband and to my friends enough they said, “Enough is enough! Rage to the blogosphere!” So I am.


What happened is this: One of the dancers, Billy Bell, tried to pull a fast one, and the judges, I figured it was mostly Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman, we all know just how much Mia Michaels has her heart set on Billy winning this season, or perhaps Kent Boyd (anyone except Adechike Torbert); actually called him on it: Wednesday he said he had an injury to his knee – the doctors cleared Billy to dance, but he decided he wasn’t going to dance. Thursday he went automatically into the bottom three where two other dances joined him because of the votes from America.

When Billy stood by Jose Ruiz and Robert Roldan he stood there quite smugly. He wasn’t worried at all about going home whereas the other two were worried, frightened. To make it even and fair, the judges decided no one was going home this week but two dancers would go home next week. Those that were safe were stunned and frightened, those that were safe for one more week were also stunned and frightened – yes, they had a reprieve, but at the same time two people were now in danger of going home instead of two all because of Billy Bell.

Billy Bell didn’t care. You could see it on his face. Nigel said, “You have set a precedent on this show because you were cleared to dance and yet you didn’t….” That was the only time Billy stopped smiling because he realized he had been caught.

Billy’s ploy? Who knows at this point, maybe it was to rest up and be as fresh as he could be for the remainder of the competition. It is quite obvious when it comes to dancing with the female population he can’t do it: Billy is gay and uncomfortable around women. He doesn’t want to be masculine in any sense of the word and he is refusing to “butch” up to take on any of the masculine roles he is being asked to do. As long as he can hold on to the androgynous dance roles, the child dances roles, the roles where he can show his technical side and not his emotional side he is fine. He doesn’t want to show any of his emotions with a female. He has been called out on this repeatedly as well as not connecting with the audience. Billy is smug and completely centered on himself and his talent, not what he can share with the audience and with his partner (unless it is a male of course).

Every single male dancer there is SO much better in general than Billy at doing everything else – connecting with partners, connecting with the music, connecting with the audience, performing in general, even if they are not “technically perfect” that Billy really should have been gone several weeks ago. The only reason Billy Bell has remained has been tween girls and probably some tween gay boys who have voted to keep him there and Mia Michaels who simply is in love with him.

Adécheke has much heart as anyone else there in the competition and works so hard and yet Mia Michaels NEVER has anything constructive to say to him. Adam Shankman always gives constructive criticism as does Nigel. It’s as if Mia Michaels wishes they had never chosen the young man in the first place! Mary Murphy was always fair, even when she had bad things to say. She was fair. I don’t know why she isn’t on the show this season, but they need to bring her back for all future seasons. True, Mary had her picks, but she never had those that she absolutely hated on the show and wished had never been chosen. Adam is fair. Nigel is fair. Mia Michaels is not fair.

Billy Bell should have been automatically voted off of the show in my opinion, but Nigel had to be fair. We can only hope that he will be gone next week. The guy doesn’t deserve to be competing with the rest of those there that truly have heart nor does he deserve to go on in the tour. Actions such as his should never be rewarded – his nor Mia’s.