Copyright Vulture
When comedian Andy Richter signed on to compete on Dancing With the Stars, he had experience being onstage with a partner as Conan O’Brien’s longtime sidekick on Late Night, but the two never ballroom danced together. Now, Richter has danced the tango, foxtrot, and Viennese waltz in front of millions on their TVs and made it all the way to the quarter finals of the competition alongside his pro, Emma Slater. “She was teaching me something that was really difficult and completely outside of my comfort zone in such a loving and understanding way,” Richter said. “She understood me.” Even though he was the lowest-scoring star on the leaderboard, it wouldn’t be fair to call the 59-year-old an underdog. The SiriusXM host of The Three Questions knows how to hold an audience, and developed an army of TikTok fans — the Fandys — who kept him alive for nine weeks of competition. People loved his vulnerability and dedication, despite his lack of dance training, but most of all, everyone loved his TikToks with Slater promoting each episode. “This thing has literally changed me for the better and changed the course of my life,” he said. How are you feeling after last night’s elimination? I don’t know if it’s withdrawal mode or culture shock, but this morning I didn’t set an alarm. I got up and walked the dogs. My wife, daughter, and I went to one of our favorite diners and had breakfast. I’ve got my life back, so in many ways it’s nice, but it’s still pretty melancholy. Emma and I are collaborating on a TikTok over text as we speak, so some things aren’t changing. How did Emma convince you to make the first TikTok together? What was that conversation like? She told me we’re gonna make two or three TikToks, in the way like, “You’re gonna take your vitamins,” and I just went, “All right, sure.” Social media is a big part of getting people invested in your campaign. Some of the other pros were like, “Well, if it isn’t Mr. TikTok” or “The King of TikTok just walked in.” It wasn’t a bitter, envy kind of thing. We’re making an impression. How did it feel posting the first TikTok? I don’t even remember what the first one was. [Posting on TikTok] truly was like some sort of daily devotion that you just do, like bowing toward Mecca or going through your rosary beads. People scream and yell that it’s a dance competition, and no, it isn’t. It’s a TV show where you get to pick what characters come back next week. If we’re doing something funny that they’re enjoying watching, whether it’s outside or inside the show, they’re gonna wanna see us more. The technicality of the dances is gonna be secondary. If we were having fun and being ourselves, people were gonna like us. Did any fans surprise you? I’ve never received any attention like this ever — like, why the fuck is Diet Coke commenting on our ridiculous videos where I’m lip-syncing and carrying purses? People are dressing their babies up like me for Halloween with knee braces and sweatbands on their heads. I started to understand the magic of dancing, and how you can lose yourself in it, and how you could become an antenna for the joy that’s in the universe. This is what makes dancers do this for their whole lives. How did your mind-set change week by week? I don’t wanna get voted off in the first elimination, but I’ll see if I can make it past the second week. Then it just went on like, Oh shit, I got through again. Then, my aim was to get through to the dedication night because I had already decided that my daughter, Cornelia, was gonna dance with us so that was my real goal post. I did have so many people saying, “You’re going to the finals,” that I did start to think, Shit, maybe I’ll get to the finals. Anytime I would’ve gone home would’ve been fine because I was well beyond what I could’ve ever expected to do. Hopefully I’ll be getting a lot more opportunities to do stuff after the show. You would be great on Traitors. Have you seen that show? I love the show, and people were like, “You’d be good at it because you’re so genuine,” and I’m sitting here thinking, I wanna be a fucking murderer. Every week, you looked truly shocked when you made it through the next round. Was there ever any survivor’s guilt on your end? Hell yes, absolutely. The week Scott Hoying went home, I face-palmed, and the geniuses on the internet thought, He wants to go home. He’s exhausted, and his poor old carcass can’t take any more. That [move] was 100 percent, Oh no, Scott, the sweetest, most wonderful person on the planet is going home. Emma and the other pros really tried to talk me out of feeling guilty; it’s up to the judges and the voters. People tried to insult me by saying “You’re the worst dancer there.” No shit, Sherlock, I’m well aware of that. You said you’re a different person now because of the show. What do you mean specifically? This thing has literally changed me for the better and changed the course of my life. I feel so much more hopeful now that from here on out I’m gonna be a healthy and happier person. To say that because of a ballroom-dance competition is crazy, but the universe works in mysterious ways. Who are you hoping wins the competition? It’s hard not to root for everybody because we all really did get to know each other. Robert is the most relentlessly positive presence I have ever been around in my entire life. He is just walking sunshine, and seeing him hoist a trophy would be pretty great.
