While Ariana Madix has consistently walked away with some of the highest scores each week on this season of Dancing With the Stars, on Tuesday night, the Vanderpump Rules star firmly cemented herself as the dancer to beat. Heading into the back half of Season 32, the other contestants are going to step it up if they want any chance to dethrone Queen Madix.
Madix has some stiff competition in folks like singer Jason Mraz and Marvel star Xochitl Gomez. During the music video round, Mraz danced to “Take on Me” by A-Ha while Gomez opted for “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani. But no one could top Madix, who channeled Britney Spears in order to dominate the competition. It’s Ariana, bitch.
Madix and her partner, Pasha Pashkov, took to the stage last night to perform a cha-cha-cha to “I’m a Slave 4 U,” recreating Spears’ iconic music video from 2001.
Video of the dance has already gone viral—understandably so! Not only does Madix nail the number, which feels true to Spears’ original choreo, but she also embodies the Britney look: messy blonde hair, perfectly smudged makeup, and that tied pink blouse from the vid. Madix is an It Girl, just like Brit.
“Ariana Madix doing original ‘Slave 4 U’ choreo on #DWTS is so fucking major,” one fan posted on social media, “especially knowing that she’s been such a big Britney fan for so long. Amazing moment.”
Madix has, indeed, been a longtime fan and avid supporter of Spears. In 2021, the TV personality shared her joy over the end of Spears’ conservatorship: “I felt full-body chills the second I found out it had been officially terminated,” Madix told Page Six. “As a lifelong fan, it was a really emotional moment for me. I’ve shed serious tears for Britney throughout this whole thing.”
Over the past year, Madix has been embroiled in her own drama: the Scandoval, the Vanderpump Rules love triangle involving Madix’s ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss. In March, reports of Sandoval cheating on Madix with Leviss were spread online, leading to a shocking season of Vanderpump Rules and an army of fans ready to support Madix, who was wronged by her co-stars.
There’s a reason we’re all rooting for Madix to take the Mirrorball Trophy this year. She needs to rub it in Sandoval’s face. While we wait for Madix to continue killing it on DWTS, now seems like an apt time to binge all of Vanderpump Rules, if you haven’t already. It’ll give you an even stronger reason to keep pulling for Madix as we head into the final four episodes.
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