Sarah Michelle Gellar And Others React After Selma Blair Gracefully Bows Out Of Dancing With The Stars

Warning! The following contains spoilers for Dancing With The Stars Season 31's "Most Memorable Year" episode. Read at your own risk!

Dancing With The Stars was already having an emotional night as contestants recalled their most memorable years, but the final performance really took the cake. It was then that the audience learned from actress Selma Blair that her doctors advised she leave the competition due to some of the injuries she'd sustained from performing as a result of her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Blair and her pro partner Sasha Farber pulled out of the competition, but not before performing one more dance. Viewers, of course, had a lot of thoughts on the decision and shared their support for Blair en masse after the episode. 

Selma Blair and Sasha Farber performed a waltz to Andra Day's "What the World Needs Now Is Love," and the audience and judges erupted into applause afterward. Everyone seemed to be a fan of the performance, but the judges took things even a step further with the ultimate sign of respect for what Blair gave to Dancing With The Stars. They awarded her perfect 10s across the board, which was a kind gesture that the internet appreciated dearly:

Following the performance, Selma Blair explained that all the injuries she sustained during Dancing With The Stars were minor to this point. While she did sustain stress fractures, she wanted to make it known that her pulling out of the competition was more out of an assurance that she wouldn't get injured in a way that was more severe, and would take a long time to recover. She mentioned that she's a mother, and ultimately, didn't want to risk hurting herself so much that she wouldn't easily bounce back. Fans respected her decision, and admired her courage during the big moment: 

Selma Blair removing herself from Dancing With The Stars meant that there would be no elimination in this latest episode. Instead, the stars will roll over their scores into the next night of the competition, and both dances will factor into the totals for the "Prom Night" elimination. It gave the contestants a little more time to prepare in what originally felt like a packed week for them, but it seemed clear onscreen that few of them were thinking about anything other than Blair at the episode's end: 

Perhaps the most significant part of the night is that Dancing With The Stars awarded Selma Blair the season's first perfect score. The 40 points made Blair and Sasha Farber the top performers of the night and solidified this as an iconic moment in the franchise's first streaming-only season. It was well deserved not just because of what Blair accomplished this season, but for what Farber brought alongside her:  

Even the famous fans of Selma Blair and Dancing With The Stars reacted to the big moment and shared their gratitude and love for the actress. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar wrote about her longtime friend Blair and Sasha Farber on her Instagram page, and thanked them both for their efforts this season: 

Dancing With The Stars is still an emotional show after 31 seasons, which is probably why it has lasted so long. Hopefully, Selma Blair will exit the show with zero regrets about how things ended, and take pride in the stellar performances she gave in these prior weeks. 

Catch Dancing With The Stars' next episode with a Disney+ subscription on Tuesday, October 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET.  The gap is quickly closing between contestants' scores, so be sure to tune in and vote to prevent the wrong dancer from being voted off too early, or to help some of the top performers of this season make their way to the finals.