Congratulations to Tik Tok star Charli D’Amelio and pro dancer Mark Ballas. The pair won the mirror ball trophy at the end of the Dancing with the Stars finale Monday night (Nov 21). Season 31 was the first season streaming on Disney+.
Charli and Mark competed against Shangela and Gleb Savchenko (4th place), Wayne Brady and Witney Carson (3rd Place) and Bachelorette Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy (2nd place) for the win. During the broadcast, special tributes were paid to pro-dancer Cheryl Burke and judge Len Goodman, who are both leaving the show. Additionally, Selma Blair and her pro partner Sasha Farber returned to the dance floor one more time to perform as contestant and American Idol alum Jordin Sparks sang her hit “No Air.” (Read our Recap).
It’s the third Dancing with the Stars win for Mark. Previously, he nabbed the Mirror Ball Trophy on season 6 in 2008 with Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and then again in 2009 with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. Charli and Mark were the first DWTS pair to top the leaderboard every week.
Overnight, the finalists travelled to New York City to appear on the traditional Good Morning America afterparty.
Mark Ballas returned to the dance floor after 5 years
For Mark, it’s been five years since he’s been in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom. “The whole experience from start to finish was fantastic,” he said. “I had a really lovely time, made a great friend and had a great time creating and dancing with Charli.” He added, “Also to be out on the floor again with all my comrades…I’ve grown up with all of them. I loved it.”
For Charli, she says, “I just gave everything I had to the journey and in that I got so much out of it, whether it’s confidence in my dancing, new friends…memories that I’ll remember forever. I’m just so glad that I did this. It’s really been such an incredible time. I’ve met so many amazing people. I’m so thankful to have done it.”
Shangela hopes her representation of drag performers inspires more love
Shangela, as the first drag performer to compete on DWTS, hopes that “the representation of a drag entertainer on Dancing with the Stars just inspires more love.” He added, alluding to the recent tragedy in Colorado Springs where five patrons of the gay bar Club Q were murdered, that “seeing the first male and male partnership with me and Gleb, and seeing how we got along ang created such amazing art together, I hope–especially with the tragedies facing the LGBTQ community recently, I think it’s really important to showcase love, and what that kind of friendship and understanding of two different people from two different walks of life–that they can still come together and create.”
Wayne, who recently hosted the AMA Awards, received a special message from his daughter, who shared how proud she was of him “working as hard as you did, balancing everything and doing the show. She added, “You are always a winner and I’m just so excited to spend time with you now that it’s over!”
