Running Point season 2 seemingly found a way to lightly poke fun at Vanderpump Rules alum Scheana Shay‘s love for Dancing With the Stars.
During season 2, which premiered on Thursday, April 23, Isla (Kate Hudson) visited businessman Al Fleischman (Ken Marino), who was busy at a ballroom dance class with a character played by Stephani Sosa.
“I really want to win Dancing With the Stars,” he told Isla, who asked if he was officially cast on the ABC show.
Al, for his part, clarified that he wasn’t offered a spot — yet. “No. But if and when they call, I want to be ready,” he added.
The fictional character’s devotion to DWTS might sound familiar to those who remember how vocal Shay was about wanting to be a contestant on the ballroom dance competition.
Marino, meanwhile, weighed in on whether he was told to use Shay as inspiration in an interview with Us Weekly.
“I don’t know, but [she] probably [was] for the writers,” he said. “My daughter and I were watching Dancing With the Stars this year and we are very, very obsessed with it.”
He continued: “When they did that Dancing With the Stars thing, my daughter was like, ‘Oh, you got to be really good.’ And I’m like, ‘I can only dance so well.’ But we had somebody from Dancing With the Stars who was dancing with me and teaching me how to dance. That was a lot of fun.”
Shay’s passion for DWTS was frequently mentioned on Vanderpump Rules.
“This year, I started taking dance class. I was preparing in case I did get it. It was kind of a punch to the gut, for sure,” Shay told Lisa Vanderpump on a March 2024 episode of VPR. “I am so happy for her. But I can be happy for her and sad for me at the same time.”
Shay subsequently got emotional on screen about being passed over in favor of Ariana Madix.
“Even her getting Dancing With the Stars, she knew how bad I wanted that. And I told her, ‘I am so genuinely happy for you. I will be there every f***ing Monday that you want me there,'” she told Lala Kent in a March 2024 episode. “She does deserve everything she is getting right now and I am so happy for her that she did not go down a dark spiral. I just am hurting still.”
Shay got some backlash when she made a seemingly snide comment in a confessional, saying, “And, like, good for [Ariana]. She has come such a long way from being my backup dancer.”
The response from fans caused Shay to clarify what she actually meant.
“That was my genuine emotion in the moment, and as cringe as I might be sometimes, I don’t ever regret sharing. That is literally my job here,” she explained on her podcast that same month. “This season, I was priding myself on trying to be the most open and honest version of myself — even if at times the audience may not agree with me.”
Shay stood by her passion for DWTS, saying, “I went way out of my comfort zone this season and I’m hoping that y’all can show me some grace and just understand that a lot of the things that we’re navigating are relatable. I’m putting it all out there because I hope that it helps people who have gone through similar things.”
She concluded: “I literally meant this as a joke. I did not mean shade. I often feel that at times when I tend to be self-deprecating, it’s not received well. It doesn’t land.”
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More recently, Shay said she now has her sights set on The Traitors.
“Traitors is my new Dancing With the Stars,” she revealed on a January 2025 episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast. “I genuinely don’t want to do Dancing With the Stars anymore.”
Running Point is currently streaming on Netflix.
