Selma Blair performed blindfolded on Dancing with the Stars to help with the “sensory overload” caused by her multiple sclerosis.
The Cruel Intentions star was diagnosed with the chronic condition, which affects the brain and spinal cord and can lead to symptoms including problems with vision, muscle spasms and fatigue, in 2018.
Due to her mobility being impaired, Blair often walks with a cane for support.
The 50-year-old is currently competing on DWTS and, during Monday (3 October) night’s episode of the US dance competition, performed a Rumba to “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton.
However, for the majority of the performance, Blair was completely blindfolded.
Her dance partner Sasha Farber explained that the blindfold should help the actor handle her MS, which often leaves her with sensory overload, as well as improve the trust between the Legally Blonde actor and Farber.
“I always saw Selma close her eyes a lot when she would feel a disconnection from her brain to her body,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “Learning steps for Selma is challenging in the sense that I can see her body try to do it. And I know that she can do it, but the message stops, and it doesn’t allow to happen. And she closes her eyes.
“I found that she would always be comfortable in that situation. I wanted to see how this would help the performance, and I remember putting it on her and she had goosebumps.”
Blair said that the experience had been “insanely weird”, but an effective way to “to not have as much sensory overload in my head”.
In her intro video, the actor explained that she was dedicating the performance to her late mother Molly Ann, who used to sing and dance along to the Bond theme before her death in 2020.
