June 27, 2025 • 45 mins
This week, we’re diving pom-poms first into Season 2 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and let’s just say, it’s not all rhinestones and high kicks.
In our brutally honest review, we break down the fights these women took on behind the scenes, from their long-overdue push for better pay, to the toll of representing one of the most iconic (and controlling) sports brands in the world.
Yes, there’s been progress, but we’re also talking about the areas where the system still gets it wrong, especially when it comes to diversity, body image, and the pressure to be "perfect."
We unpack the surprising twists, the darker moments you might not expect, and the very real power dynamics at play, on and off the field.
Plus, Ksenija shares her insider scoop from the modelling world, drawing some striking (and frankly disturbing) parallels between runway life and the DCC machine: the unattainable beauty standards, the constant critiques, and the pressure to smile through it all.
LISTEN:
Want more Brutally Honestly Reviews? Get these in your ears:
A Brutally Honest Review Of Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper
A Brutally Honest Review Of Sirens On Netflix
A Brutally Honest Review Of With Love Meghan
READ:
Want all the DCC details you can get your hands on? We've got you covered:
'The problem that ruined season 2 of America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders for me.'
6 behind-the-scenes facts that will change the way you watch Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
'There was one Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders scene that made my jaw drop, but I don’t know why I was surprised.'
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So you're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and borders
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Hello, and welcome to the spill your daily pop culture Fixed.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
I'm em Burnham and.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm Cassena Luku my god.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I love it when we're podcasting. We hardly ever podcast again.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I know, I know. It's usually me and Laura or
me and Laura and Laura. So it is nice to
do a show together, and particularly today because today we
are doing a brutally honest review of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Yes,
and boy do I have a lot to say.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We love our brutally honest reviews. I feel like everyone
loves our brutally honest reviews the most. Can I say
that this on Weekend Watch? I feel like big contenders
for us. But brutally honest reviews is basically we usually
wait a week after a particular TV show or movie
has come out just to make sure everyone watched it
and everyone's digested so we can give our hard hitting thoughts.
(01:14):
They're always spoilers in these reviews, so if you haven't
watched America's Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. You have to watch
it first before you listen to this episode, So pause here,
go quickly watch all seven episodes on Netflix, and then
come back and listen.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
We're a part of each other's lives forever. You know
what we're going to do weddings.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You're like, when we make this team, we're gonna make
it together because we're such good friends.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
But them, it doesn't always end up like that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
We are really excited that there's a lot of new girls.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Every year.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
The talent just gets better and better and better.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
We've always been told there's one hundred more girls. I
would love to do this job. Everyone's gonna say, well,
they're just cheerleaders. We're really good cheerleaders.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, but what costs?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I mean, I churned through it in a day.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
It is so good.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I look, I'm a huge fan of these kinds of shows.
I remember watching Making a Team, which is kind of.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Look, did you watch Making a Team when it came out?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Not when it first came out. I watched it a
few years ago though, But like, I was a bit
of a fan of that before. So I knew Judy
and Kelly before. You know, this first season came out
on Netflix, which is when kind of the majority of
the world would have seen them. But you know, despite
the fact that we all really love it, there are
definitely a couple of things in the show that I
(02:43):
really want to like dive into a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Okay, good because I remember when season one came out
last year, the grip it had on society and culture
was just insane. Like everything we wrote on it here
among me, every time we spoke about it on the podcast,
people just wanted more and more and more. There were
so many storylines to dive deep into. There were so
(03:06):
many big takeaways from it. The biggest thing that came
from season one was when audiences realized how little these
women were paid, and that is a big plot line
for season two because I think the best thing about
season two is the success of season one has driven
a lot of the storylines for season two. We're seeing
(03:27):
these women like be pushed into this whole new area
of fame where so many of them are like considered
B listers. Now everyone knows a name and their faces
and they just wanted to cheer for a team essentially,
and they've just become these massive superstars. So we will
be talking a lot about that, but also if you
haven't watched season one, you have to watch that as well.
It is just an absolute culture phenomenon, like everyone is
(03:49):
obsessed with it.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
But let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Okay, I think let's we will get into some of
the pay stuff and some of the deepest storylines. But
I first of all really wanted to start with some
of the body image and mental health stuff that we've
seen through season two. Now, it was a biggest story
in Sea in one, particularly with Victoria, who we know
(04:12):
she left at the end of season one. She's gone
on to now be a Rocket which she's auditioning for
the Rockets now. She was pretty open about her eating
disorder and the way that the pressure that is put
on these girls to be in peak physical condition. Throwing
(04:34):
back to making the team, they're a lot more to
the point about it, because this is like the twenty tens,
so it was okay to call the woman fat who
had zero percent body fat.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I've seen some clips of making the team on TikTok
and it seems very similar to Next Top Model.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
It was.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It's very Next Top Model coded, whereas like here, it
feels a bit they're like kind of tiptoeing around it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
And I think they're doing this on purpose because of
the backlash that it would have gotten. So there is
a particular scene where Kelly is talking about one of
the girls. She's in the kick line. They're like, oh
my god, look at her rolls. They cut to the
poor girl. She's she's kicking her leg up into this
in I'm with her nose and her skin is rolling
over and then they put like a sound effect on it,
(05:15):
like a.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Oh my god, it's awful.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Wait.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
In season two, no making the team. This is year
I did that. I just want to contextualize it on
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Oh that's gross.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So season two, there's no one outwardly saying you need
to be in shape. They don't talk about it, but
it is under everything. Yeah, a lot of the girls
talk about the pressure, the anxiety and the pressure to
be in this certain shape. You know. We see them
going and eating burgers and takeaway and Chick fil A
and they talk about all of that. But where I'm
(05:49):
coming from, where I watch it from, I watch it
through a lens of I was a model from the
time I was eighteen to twenty four, So it's not
a huge amount of time, but I was pretty And
this is in like two thousand and eight, so we're
talking kind of the peak of this, like top model,
really high pressure environment in terms of like body image.
(06:09):
The modeling industry is very well known for being very,
very hard on women's bodies. I experienced it a lot
in my early years. I have many memories. I remember
one time I was in Paris and I had someone
looked at my book and went, you would be modeling
for five minutes. You are very fat, like to my face.
(06:32):
Oh and I'm eighteen years old and I was like
fifty kilos.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I remember being told they loved you, they just need
you to lose five kilos.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
I've just been a casual five killer.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I've been told, oh, you look like you just ate
a big bowl of past start when I was doing
a bikini photo shoot, even though I had starved myself
for three days. Like So this is where my brain
goes when I watched this show, because even though they
don't say it, there is an undercurrent there. I can
see it in all of these girls that the amount
of pressure they are pulled under to be in peak
(07:06):
physical condition with not an inch to pinch, and they
say these things. Their words for fat are she's looking
a bit more womanly at the moment, Oh, you look
really shapely. We just really want the girls to fuel
their bodies. Yeah, And it's so passive aggressive because they
(07:27):
can't outwardly say it anymore. And from my point of view,
watching these poor girls who are all incredibly talented athletes,
the dancers, athletes, you see how hard they work and
the way that their bodies look. But those outfits are
like they are scrutinized within an inch of their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I always see it when in the scenes, and a
lot of season two is like the structure is very
repetitive of season one in the sense where the first
few episodes are about like the auditions and the rookies
and the rookies getting cut and trying to make the
team and the makeover and then putting their uniforms on.
So it's the same pattern, but I think season two
dives harder into the storylines. But you're right every time
(08:13):
they do that, a specific episode of where they're trying
on the classic Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's uniform. I look at
that uniform and I'm like, where is like, how are
you able to measure these women and scrutinize their looks
when they literally all look quote unquote stereotypically perfectly thin,
(08:34):
Like they actually look perfect Like I look at those
tiny white shorts that they wear, and I'm like, I
could never wear those shorts. Firstly, my volver is longer
than those shorts.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Oh, like she.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Would be hanging out.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I had two kids. There's no way put.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
No shots, no way those shorts will fit on like
my right arm. And that's it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
You know What's interesting though, if you went back, if
you were like, if you really wanted to get into
the DTCC universe, I would highly recommend going back and
watching making a Team. I don't think it's on any
streaming services. I think you have to kind of pay
on like Apple or something. Okay, good to pay for it.
But it's so much better now. And I know you're
saying you look at these women and you see them
as perfectly skinny and like, yeah, straight sized. I can
(09:16):
tell you right now some of the girls in there
would not have made the team in the early twenty
Like that's in twenty teens because they've got more athletic
butts or legs. I saw more diversity in this second
season of Doll was clubles cheerleaders than I did in
the early seasons of making the team. Isn't that insane?
Speaker 4 (09:37):
That is actually insane.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Because from our perspective, you would look at those goals
and go, they've all got perfect bodies. Yeah, but I'm
telling you right now that the standards that they had
Judy and Kelly had back then, and the way that
they used to say it, and if.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
You want to have those standards and they just can't
say it, and they're probably hating themselves for not being
able to say it.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I can tell you right now they do say it,
but they don't say it went in front of the
camera because they know they would be backlash. And I
guess that's all of this to say, even though they're
not saying it outwardly, And you can hear Judy and
Kelly being like, we really want the girls to fuel
themselves and it's really important that they're focusing on fitness
and nutrition. Those are all coded words of if you
(10:18):
don't fit into your uniform, you're gonna be a cup
from a team.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Yeah, okay, like.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I can almost I don't know if they still do
this now. But I remember again when I was modeling,
I used to have to go into my agency when
I was living in Tokyo. Used to have to go
into my agency every week and they would weigh me
and measure me. If I gained weight, they would hold
back my PERDM so they would keep my pocket money
away from me, so I couldn't buy.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Food that is legal, that's insane.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I was nineteen, and I'm telling you right now these
girls would be under that same kind of pressure.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
It feels wild to me.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, maybe I am overthinking it. Maybe this is just
like my old trauma. Maybe this is like a trauma
response for me. But I swear I look at that
and I go, I can see the way these girls
are responding, and how young they are, how hard they're
working out.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
It's a true response, for sure, because you're hearing those
words and seeing their reactions. But even the way they
respond to Kelly and Judy's criticism no matter what, like
that yes, yes, ma'am having to call them ma'am. And
then even that one scene where Kelly who came back
again this season to try it again because she didn't
she got cut as a rookie last season. She's the
(11:30):
one who famously they made her go brunette and they
cut her.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
She came back, what a trooper.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
But I remember this one specific scene when they were
doing the call in to try on the uniforms and
she got the time wrong, like they sent her two links.
She clicked one link and said one time and the
other links at a different time, and she didn't see
the other link, so she went in a tiny bit late.
And Kelly immediately said, if this was a game day,
you would have missed the bus, and she just like
(11:57):
broke down crying.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I clicked the wrong link.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
And on this link it said I was at five.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Well, let's says Courtney, because this could be a game
baby bus that you miss Yes, ma'am, can you explained
to Kelly, she's looking at a link this is five.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
No, you're looking at sign up genius.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
So I wrote update, please check your correct time in
the attached file.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
So go to files this is where, and then you'll
check here, and then if you scroll down you'll see.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
If that was a gang babe best.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Kelly, you had missed it, yes, ma'am. H it's just
frustrating because like everything I want to do is perfect.
I just want everything to go perfect, and everything has
been going really well so far, and then I just
don't want them to like I shouldn't be getting emotional
about something like this.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
It's just it's something.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
I could have been avoided if I, like, I guess
quadruple checked. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
She's like, I don't want them to have like any
little hint of like anything that will make me get caught.
And I'm like, these two women hold so much power
over all of these young girls. And when I saw
that scene of her breaking down crying, I was like, oh,
this is so unhealthy.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And you can see that that power as well with
the difference in the energy between the rookies and the veterans,
like you can see it really clearly. The rookies are
literally yes, mamming every because particularly when in a team
like this, well, if you walk away, there's one hundred
girls lined up. Again, I've been told that before by someone.
(13:31):
They said, you can leave, but there's one hundred girls
who would want to take your job in a second.
So that phrasing. They have been told that from day
dot they are lucky to be there, so these rookies.
They are working their butts off to make Kelly, Judy
and sort of to even bigger extent, Charlotte Jones, to
make them happy. And you can see the way they
(13:53):
look at them like, oh, we'll do an I'll do
anything to be on this team or.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Even that random panel of judges that give them the
first go. Initially, Yeah, like the weather reporter, I'm like,
what why you hear man?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Why do you have like I don't about but the
veterans you can see there. I'm never a little bit
more confident in their power. They're a bit more confident
in it. And that is why I have so much
respect for someone like Jada who really spearheading this whole
you know, being paid what there were. Yeah, I really
really respect her for that.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She was introduced in a really interesting way. Like her
thing from the get go has been I really want
to be a team leader. I really want to lead
these girls, but I want to do it my way.
I don't want to do it Judy or Kelly's way.
And when she said that line, I was like, Oh,
something's going to happen. But I also want to touch
on back to the diversity stuff. I feel like a
(14:45):
big pushback from season one was the lack of diversity,
which is really interesting how you said it was even.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Worse in making the team so much worse.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
So season one, I remember I wrote a think piece
about a rookie named Anisha who got cut, who was
off South Asian heritage, and I wrote about how important
was to see someone who looks like you do something
that you couldn't even imagine, someone who looks like you
didn't does and she made it. But then you got cut,
and then you just suddenly slowly saw and it wasn't
like a big deal in the show, but when you
(15:16):
put it all together, you slowly saw all the women
of color rookies get cut from that first initial season,
and you saw some rookies like Kelly Charlie Reese who
are now back in season two. They had really strong
storylines that we followed throughout, and everyone else was kind
of there in the background, and I feel it was
a bit very tokenistick like you would see them there,
(15:37):
so they're like, yep, you can see them, ye days, yeah,
there we go all done. And there was this one
point where Anisha was like cugging another rookie and she
was like, you have to do this for the you
have to do this for the Brown girls, And I
was just like, so beautiful. But I feel like season two,
like what you said, I'm seeing these veterans who have
apparently been there for four or five years, did not
(15:58):
see them at all in season one, are now at
the forefront of the whole of season two with their
storylines like Jada, like Shandy, and they're also the team leaders,
which I feel like is like very very rare, Like
they're all like have such brilliant, great storyline. So I
feel like I'm really happy that DCC has taken that
on board, because I think it was a very loud
(16:19):
voice from the public saying this is really messed up
how all the women of color essentially got cut. But
one of our entertainment writers, Chelsea, wrote a brilliant piece
about Alison Kong, who is a woman of Asian heritage.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Do you remember.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Alison in season two? No, it's because she wasn't interviewed once.
She was like one of the rookies, like was there
and she got chosen to be on the team, and
you probably saw her three times in the background. And
Chelsea's piece is so linked in the show notes Chelsea's
piece is so well done because very similar of how
I felt with a niche. In season one, Chelsea saw
(16:56):
this woman who has like the same heritage as her
getting completely snubbed by the cameras, like and the fact
that she was a rookie and made it into the
actual team and you see glimpses of her dancing and
she's not getting any like negative feedback. She's nailing it.
She's doing it so well. And I feel like the
US is like so multicultural, and it feels like this
is one of those sports that hasn't been as good
(17:18):
at being multicultural, and yet they are, but they're still
choosing to not follow those certain storylines. What I did like, though,
was when they were doing the makeover episode, and we
didn't see this in season one, but we were introduced
to Rosemary, who's a hairstylist and she specializes in making
wigs for black women, and we were able to see Ariel,
(17:39):
who was a rookie, and Amani, who has alopecia, get
their wigs made. And I was just like, that is
not like it shouldn't be amazing, it should be the
bare minimum. But the fact that, like we have this
woman who's as amazing as Rosemary. There as a job
to be able to like work on black hair.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
You say that she see how what she says she's going,
she's gonna be hired recently.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Because apparently in making the team, and this is I
saying apparently because I read a Reddit threat.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I have seen making the team and what they.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Had to bring their wigs in.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yes, they would have to bring their own wigs in
the black girls, or they would have girls who didn't
know how to do black hair or textured hair would
be doing it and completely destroy their hair. And you
saw that a lot in Top Model as well back
in the day, like any girl with like textured hair
anything different to like a one a like four sea hair,
(18:29):
like they didn't know how to deal with it. And
I was very happy to see that at least one.
I love how they let Jada wear her natural hair.
Oh that's really beautiful. Very early on in making the team,
none of the girls had their natural hair. They were
all wearing like Dallas hair like right, so I guess
(18:50):
there is like again bare minimum like the bars on
the floor here. Yeah, But I did love Armani's storyline
with her alopecia. They thought that was really beautiful when
she went out and did it without her wig, gone
you Muchine, how scary that would have been.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
She looked stunning, She looked beautiful.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
I think what they.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Really honed in amani storyline about pichia is that with
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, yes, you have to be the best
in the world. Yes you have to be super super
fit and agile, and you have to just work work,
works so hard, but you also just have to look
like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. And a lot of people
get cut because they don't look it. And the fact
(19:30):
that Amani was able to go out there without her
wig and not just a cheerleader, but I feel like a.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Woman in general.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Oh yeah, we always say hair it's not a big deal,
but hair is everything. Fleabag taught us that hair is everything,
and it's like something that's so intrinsic to being a
woman and the where you wear your hair, the way
you style it. And with Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's like hair
is a big part of the routine.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well haiography, you know when they do their hair, flick
up it. She sees how hot Shandy.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Is, oh my, got that photo that's just gone by,
and she.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Goes like, I honestly, I want to kind of do
it now. Wait, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Okay, she's gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Okay, she guys, yeah, and her hair is just like
and then she looks, I'm not, Oh my.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Gosh, it is stunning.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
We should actually get our producer money in here, because
she actually knows the entire routine.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
I'm a terrible dancer, so I but she That was
And like you said, the hair is such an important
part of like femininity, sexuality. It is intrinsically tied in
with beauty for a lot of women.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
And I think it was so brave for Omani to
do that game without her wigs because I just know
she's not the only woman with alopecia. There are so
many women with alopecia. There are so many young girls
with alopecia who feel like, if you have a condition,
you can't do certain things. And I think she's proof
that you can. And it was just such It was
just such a well done tie in. But yeah, I
(20:59):
feel like a lot of the stuff that happened last season,
in particular, they've tried to address it this season, and
one of the big things that they went over this
season was the pay.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Now again, it's like this kind of passive aggressive way
that they're trying to address it without actually addressing it.
It's like because Judy and Kelly, you know, they can't
talk about it. You know, they've been specifically told by
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the HEADHN shows, they have been specifically
told you cannot talk to Netflix about the girl's pay.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
The way that they tried to be like, look at
all these perks that one episode where they talk through
after all they've made the team, they do like this sponsorship.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Oh yeah, it's like a little like it was like
a series of presentation.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, it's like a presentation of this is what you
can get from us. You get free hair from us,
you can get free spray tands, you can so and
their boat are free botox, free fellers. All we ask
is that you tag us on socials And they have
this little like clip with one of the girls standing
there and they pan up heer and it goes to
(22:04):
show all the sponsors, all the sponsors, and Kelly's going,
you know, you know, like it's I'm not I was
gonna try and do this Southern accent and a chickened
out and I literally said it out loud when I
was watching it. She's going, you know, these girls they
get like so many Now this is California, Okay, I'm
not going to do it. These girls they get all
of these perks, like this is one of the great
(22:27):
things about being a Dallas Cowboys chillad. You get fitness,
you can make up, like look nails, everything. Back in
my day, you didn't even get any of that. We
had to pay for all of it. And it's expensive.
And I literally screamed at the TV, but that doesn't
pay their rent, Like I screamed at the TV. And
then it wasn't until like two episodes later that I
think it was either Armani or Jada was like, it's
(22:49):
great that we get all these things, but it doesn't
pay my rent.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Yeah, one hundred percent. And we saw later on in
the show pay being quite important to the girls, especially
the veterans. And this was off the back of season
one where all everyone could talk about was how little
these girls were being paid. And a big part of
season one was the head honchos of DCC saying their
(23:13):
payment is getting to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's for
the honor of it. It's for the honor of it.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
They're not paid a lot, but the facts are is
that they actually don't come here for the money.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
They come here for something that's actually bigger than that.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
To them. They have a passion for dance. There are
not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance
and to get to perform at an elite level, it
is about being a part of something bigger than themselves.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
And we found out that that mascot gets paid more
than them. That the football players are on millions and
millions and millions of dollars, and these girls are getting
paid pennies to the point where they have to sustain
themselves by finding other work. Don't forget that a lot
of these girls move to Texas for this job, so
then they have to find another job in a new town. Yeah,
to have sustain themselves.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Again, it really gets me because it's like for the
honor of it. And again I'm going to tie this
back to modeling because I had this experience many times
when I would when I was working in magazines like
for magazine covers. I did a number of like these
like covers back in the day, one hundred and fifty
dollars for the whole day for a cover, after tax,
commission all of that, I think I ended up with
(24:22):
like fifty dollars. Yeah, and that hadn't changed for twenty years.
And I used to do like when I used to
do Fashion Week, some of the designers would pay you
in clothes that would be pay you contra. So like again,
it really it really pisses me off because it's like
you're not paying like all of these these The honor
of it is great, Yes, it is an honor to
(24:43):
be in this team. There are only a finite number
of women who have been a part of the Dallas
Cowboys cheerleaders. We know that it does not mean they
don't deserve to be paid a livable waight Nana.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
There was a point in the show where we saw
a few of the veterans get together to discuss the
payment issue. It looked like it was spearheaded by Amanda
and Jada on the team and they were on the
skype call with I think there was about five of them,
and they were saying that when we get the contracts,
we're gonna dispute the pay. So before you sign, we're
(25:15):
going to dispute the pay. And a few of the
girls on that call also said that if they don't
get what they want, then they're willing to step down
and give their position.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
To another girl.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
And I think it just showed how serious that these
women take it. And not only that, but like how
bloody smart they are. Yeah, like they know their worth
and especially Jada, who's like who's always said from the
beginning of the season that she wants to do things
her way and be a leader her way. Like the
amount of care they have for the rookies, and they
want the rookies to succeed, and they were so nervous
(25:45):
that they didn't want the rookies to get the bad
idea because these rookies are literally working their guts off,
only to be told by veterans just letting you know,
we're doing this thing about pay. So when you get
your contracts, don't sign it.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
And you know what's interesting, and again it was very
it was glossed over. When they did get their contracts,
the lawyers in HR said, well, if you don't sign it,
you're still bound by it. Yeah, so the girls actually
didn't even sign the contract.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
No, and like, yeah, it's just such a messy situation,
is it is? One hundred was also highly anticipated by
the higher ups.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
These higher ups, they they have capitalized on these women
from calendars to you know them selling, Like, yes, the
brand itself is iconic, but these girls make that brand
and the fact that they can't even pay them a
livable hourly pay is absolutely disgusting. I'm so so happy
that they got a four hundred percent increase.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Yes, and which was great, but it happened. We're also
while a lot of them retired, so like Jada, for example,
doesn't get that increase, but she thought for that, which
is absolutely amazing. We don't actually know how much they
are getting paid. We only know the four hundred percent
increase as reported by the New York Times, but it
just shows I think they were aiming for like seventy
(27:03):
five dollars an hour. Yeah, and it just shows like
it does work. Like and I it is really good
that after season one that everyone made a big deal
about it, Like it wasn't just these girls going we
should get paid more. It was like everyone across the
world going, yeah, you should get paid.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
More, But I mean, I think it's disappointing that they
didn't even start this season off with just giving them
more money. And what I did notice is that Charlotte
didn't do any talking heads this season.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
She came in for like two sets, like we saw
her for two seconds, but.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
She didn't do like any piece cameras, whereas last season
season one she did. And I think it's because she
got so much backclash from season one because she was
talking about what an honor it is, and then season
two she's not really in it. The only time that
she comes in it is during the judging and then
also to announce that these are the girls that have
(27:52):
made the team.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Yeah, it's so interesting. I feel like what really stuck
with me in terms of like the payment for all
of this is literally right at the end of the
last episode where they've finished the whole season and they
make this so dramatic, but they come into a room
with Judy Kelly sitting there and they kind of like
so each girl recaps and reflects their season, and then
(28:15):
she decides whether she wants to audition for the next season,
and if she wants to audition for the next season.
Then she takes her Dallas Cowboys cheerlead this uniform and
puts it on the left rack. If she doesn't want
to audition for the season, she takes a uniform and
puts it on the right rack. And Amanda, who was
part of the whole let's get paid more, kind of
threw a spanner in the works and basically said, I
(28:37):
don't feel valued here. I know I'm valued more than this,
and I just don't feel it here, So I'm not
gonna come back. And Juny and Kelly were like, Okay,
they were so shocked you could tell they were fuming
on the inside.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I but again, I know this is the thing. So
Kelly and Judy, I don't doubt that they care about
these girls. I don't doubt that. I don't doubt that.
Like I don't think Kelly and Judy are getting paid
as much as what people think they are and.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Not getting paid as much as Charlote Jones is.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Getting no exactly, Like, Kelly's house was very modest, Like
it was a lovely home, but it was a modest
home considering she's been heading up the Dallas Cowboys cheer
leaders for what thirty years or something. Like she's been
a part of the organization for a long time. I
don't think she's on like crazy, crazy money. I'm sure
she's doing just fine.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
You can also hear some annoyance in their voices because
they were Dallas Cowboys tats.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
And it's almost like a it's like, I did it
for the love of it. You have no idea? How
about it was when I and I hate that. I
don't like that justification of things because the whole point
of things is that we learn and grow and improve. Yeah, right,
we should look at that as a society and go,
these girls deserve more. They deserve more than fifty bucks.
(29:49):
Again they do that is insane. And to think about
what they're putting their bodies through, Like think about those
jump splits that they're doing. Almost all of them have
like hip issues, knee issues, joint problems.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
We're all hobbling into that. Shandy wasn't like a cushy.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Was in like a full hip thing with this.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
She was on crutches.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Like these women are putting their bodies through a lot.
I mean, I'm really passionate about it because it really
bothers me because it reminds me I have been told
so many times in this like entertainment industry, modeling industry,
you should be grateful. Do you have any people would
want to be in your position? No one sense that's
to a man.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
That's so true, And I does say that to a man,
except for the mascot, we're saying.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
It to you.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yeah, you don't deserve what you're getting paid, your aman hat.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
I think also with the whole pay thing, a big
part of the push that they were able to get
that four hundred percent pay increase was because of the
public perception of that entire show. And we also saw
in season two that the publicity of season one really
changed the formatting of what it takes to be a
(30:52):
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. What I found really interesting was right
in the beginning, before we even saw the auditions, they
were saying that they had twelve spots to fill in
for rookies, which was the biggest amount of rookies they
had to fill in in the past five years. And
then later in the season you find out that a
lot of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders lot, but there's a
fair few have actually left being a cheerleader to pursue
(31:15):
other things like influencing.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Yeah, and now a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Of these girls who have to have a part time
job on top of being a cheerleader have taken up influencing.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
And that's great because we know that like again, like.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Reese has her cooking channels like good on her, get
that bad girl like you just serve that, and that's
going to be a lot easier for them to tie
in with their commitments at Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders than you know,
a typical nine to five. And what's really interesting is
seeing Judy and Kelly trying to navigate this newfound fame
for their cheerleaders because the rules of being a Dallas
(31:47):
Cowboys cheerleader hasn't changed regardless of how famous they are.
Like we saw little snippets of girls being cut because
of what they've been posting on their Instagram and things
like they have to now manage these girls reaching this
new found fame, and I think that really came to
lights during the Bahamas trip.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
These few episodes were very like there was the whole
Bahamas storyline with Shandy, So basically they all go to
the Bahamas to have this you know, it's like a
vacation for the whole teape and it's like a treat
to the girls. Again, you're so lucky you get to
go to the Bahamas, but we're not going to pay
you any money Anyway, they go to the Bahamas, they're
all having this wonderful time.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
They're all posting on the station, they're all posting.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
On these socials, and then all of a sudden, Shandy's
taking a leave of absence.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Yeah, and then you see this shot of them on
the bus ride back and they're all just like sad
and solemn.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
And there was just like this kind of cat and
then it was like she's taking a leave of it.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Everyone's like, something happened at the Bahamas.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Can you explain it to me? Because even now, like
I understand what happened, but I don't really. I'm also,
she had a boy in her room.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So there's a few things that happened. So Shandy is
one of my favorite people in this show. I feel
like she's been through so much. She was so honest
about opening up about her history. She had an ex
partner that she alleged physically abused her while she was
a DCC, Like she said that she was showing up
(33:08):
with bruises on her. She's come from such an upsetting,
traumatic place, and the fact that she's still able to
do this and also be a team leader and do
it well is just outstanding to me.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
She you know, she she came from she was adopted
into her family, her parents split up, then her dad
just basically said, I don't want to have anything to
do with you anymore, like so awful.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
She's had like an awful, awful time growing up. And
this Bahamas trip, so this was meant to be like
kind of like a teen get together, a big trip
for the girls only, and she goes on this trip,
and what happened is that she was talking about her
relationship a lot, and she was saying how because of
like everything that's happened with her, like it is a
(33:53):
hard relationship. So both her and a partner decided to separate,
to split up. This wasn't known before we found out
about the Bahamas trip, but she said it. During the
Bahamas trip, she said she met a guy that she
got on really really well with and she brought him
back up to her hotel room. She said, nothing happened,
they just like talked a lot.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Still like but still she's a twenty five year oldl She.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Brought this man backed up to a hotel room. That
was the biggest scandal of the season. Like what it
was like, I said.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
It, I get into like a certain extent if there's
another girl in there that you're like, But haven't you
guys ever been in a KENTICKI trip because way wild
than that.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I think it was the fact that I don't know,
I feel like when you go on these girls, firstly,
it's a work trip for them essentially, and it's like
all girls, a lot of them are married in long
term partnerships, and I think it's when you're mixing those
girls with like and also a lot of them are
like the born bred Texas girl, very Christian, very Christian,
(34:51):
very conservative, very conservative, and I think when you're mixing
that type of girl with the girl who's like freshly single,
who meets someone who's like looking for an escapism, it clashes.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
And one of the biggest rules for these trips was
like you can't let strangers into the hotels, into your
bedrooms because you're also like share sharing rooms with other girls.
Speaker 4 (35:11):
And stuff like that, because I don't get paid to
the sharing rooms.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And I think it was extra important that she didn't
do something like this now because they are much more
famous now, so people know who they are. So if
you were to bring a stranger into your room, there
might be a possibility that they actually know who you are,
and it could get a bit like dangerous for the women.
So I see the danger aspect of that bringing a
man into a room that are like full of young women.
(35:36):
I did think they overdramatized it because she was suspended
for a bit, and then when she was suspended, kay
Diana took her spot as team leader. Now it's very
obvious who the team leaders are because they're at the
forefront of the pyramids, the point of the triangle, the
point of the triangle. So what happened here and this
is what we saw blow up last year because this
(35:56):
what we're seeing now on DCC is actually last season's
kind of team twenty four. So when this happened last year,
I just remember like socials, like my instagram read it
just comments and comments and comments on like the DCC
instagram of going what happened to Shandy? Where is Shandy?
Speaker 4 (36:13):
She injured?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
What happened? Because no one actually addressed it. And I
also think this is quite shitty for Ka Deana as well,
because she got pushed into being like a team leader
without the DCC team even addressing why she's a team
leader or why it's not Shandy And this is meant
to be a career defining moment for her, and all
the comments about her are just wear Shandy.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
And by the way, apart from that last episode, she
wasn't in this season.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
No, she wasn't classic at all classic.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
So it was all of a sudden she popped up
and oh, by the way, you're not she's no longer
a DCC and I'm leaving.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Yeah, Like it was so weird. Okay, so this was
all happening. And then what happened last year was like,
as all this commentary was going on, Ka Deanna decided
to go on TikTok Live and to just like do
like a bit of a Q and A. One of
the questions was what's happened to Shandy? And this is
what she said.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'm gonna make a video on that one day. One
day i will talk about the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
So the story could stuck with the breast and so
the story of course, someone screen recorded it, put it
on Reddit.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
They blew it up.
Speaker 5 (37:20):
I didn't even talk about Charie, never said Shandy's name.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
She then said on the show, so this is now DCC.
On the show, she said, I got a call from staff.
They said I was under investigation for being a bully
and harassing. I was officially suspended. At that point, I
just told myself that I needed to take myself out
of the organization and that I needed to respect myself.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
That'sright.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
And she didn't get to go to the banquet, the
last thing that they all get to go.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
This is where we kind of see like a little
bit of Kelly and Judy's favoritism.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Okay, yeah, you reckon.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Oh and this is nothing against Shandy, Like, yeah, I
think she's divine, beautiful, well deserving to where she is. Like,
I understand what Judy says when she says she needs
a hug and she needs a bit more like I
am not putting any of that on her. I do
feel like Katie Anna probably feels like they are favorites
in the group. They're thirty six girls.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
This is gonna be favor And she was also crying
as she said that, like she was so heartbroken that
she got suspended yeah, for not even like saying Shandy's name,
but also just all she did in that video to me,
she was just stand up for us up. And she
even said on DCC that she felt like Shandy got
all the perks of being a team leader while I
got all the work, because being a team leader is
(38:34):
so so hard. And but I think Shandy did a
brilliant job as team leader. I think Katiana looking at
the routines, also did a brilliant job. And imagine like
being at the pinnacle of your career and yet all
everyone's talking about is someone else, and the company you're
working for is refusing to address it. They're like laying
everything on you. So you just go on TikTok and
you say one day I will talk about it, and
(38:56):
then you get signed off for bullying and harassment. And
we obviously don't know the full story, Like they could
be more to it, and I do you think there is?
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I think they has been beef between them before. I
think that there is with this is just my speculation.
This is like I don't know anything here, but this
is how I see it. Thirty six girls and a team.
Kelly and Judy are going to have the girls that
they pick us their favorites. The girls who aren't the
favorites are going to probably have some resentment and anger
(39:28):
towards the girls that are the favorites because there's thirty
six of them. They're not all like sisters all the time.
I can tell you right now, Like thirty six twenty
year olds. Yeah, come on, they don't all love each
other all the time.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
And they how said it on the show like they
are your sisters, but it is like you're still competing.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
For that spot.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
And what I found really interesting is that we also
saw a glimpse of what Victoria's doing now. She's obviously
not a does cobis Chile. The last season we found
out that she wanted to go to New York to
pursue being a Rocket, which is I feel like would
be harder than being a DCZ.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
They get paid better too, they get yeah, rockets get
paid quite like way better.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
So you see her and her mum traveling to New
York for her to pursue her dream. And what I
found really interesting was her mum actually told her your
sisters didn't do their jobs because like when you're a
rookie in this like you're meant to kind of stay
in that like essence of DCC. You're meant to have
these women kind of like push you up and be
there for you and be your friends. And her mom
(40:25):
saying your sisters didn't do their job was just so
telling that she was just kind of pushed.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Out again because she wasn't a favorite, haven't you, Like,
I don't know if you ever did like musical theater
or anything.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
At all, not for me.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Okay, so the theater, like I remember back, you know,
my drama teacher is like there was always like a
bit of whispering whenever we had musical theater or like
shows or plays or anything, and whoever got put in
the lead, there was always one girl who was like
the drama teacher's favorite, and there was always gossipy behind
the scenes of like the other girls who didn't get
that lead role. Talking about that, but like it's very
(41:01):
much that's the vibe I'm getting. I'm I one hundred
percent think there are favorites in that group, and the
girls who aren't the favorites not that's just the ones
that haven't been seen by Netflix. So I'm not even
talking about Netflix production. I'm talking about favorites of Kelly
and Judy and maybe to a lesser extent, Charlotte, but
their favorites, like even the whole thing of like you're
(41:24):
gonna get picked for.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Certain things, Yeah, I think, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
So I think poor Katiana has been like at the
end of her tether and was like, I'm so sick
of being like I'm doing all of his hard work.
Chandi's getting all of these not that she doesn't deserve it,
but like what about me?
Speaker 4 (41:41):
It's so true.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
And I do think after the last episode where we
saw Amanda walk out saying she doesn't feel valued here,
especially with the pay stuff, I do think if there
is going to be a season three, the stakes are
going to be so much higher because I think every
time after one of these seasons, the public just go
wild over a certain thing, and then that kind of
fuels the storyline for the next season.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I think it's really important and I really hope that
through this show these girls are able to gain a
bit of power, which we have seen from season one.
Season two. You know, they still are really vulnerable. These
women are still at the bottom of the food.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
Chain, and we're darker storyline.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
And you know, the anxiety, the pressure, what they put
through is a lot. I really hope that after this
season they can continue to gain some of their power
because the more social media following, the more that they
have that behind them, the more ammo they have when
they go into these negotiations, because you need to be
able to show value to people like this because the
(42:45):
higher ups see dollar signs on them. Yeah, see it
that they are disposable toys to these higher ups.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
Unfortunately, I want a battle.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
I again, if you get a chance, go watch Making
a Team because you'll see how much worse it was.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
I can just feel myself like these.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Girls have so much more power than what the girls
did not even a decade ago. It was like seven
years ago. I highly recommend it. If you want to cringe,
watch Making the Team.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
Okay, but look.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Yeah, I'm again. I know I keep taking it back
to this, but it really brings back a lot of
memories of being in the modeling industry, being in the
entertainment industry in my early years, and really feeling powerless
and feeling like I just had to be particularly when
I was modeling when I was like seventeen eighteen in
a room full of fully grown adults. I'm still a
(43:35):
teenager at this time. I'm in a room full of
fully grown adults, and I'm expected to be a good girl.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Yeah, And that is what I see in a lot
of these goals, especially the rookies, especially the rookies, and
I hope that as time progresses, they are able to
gain some of that power because they deserve it, because
they work, you can see how Yeah, And like I
think the public's push for that has just been so
good for it. But like, overall this season it's just
like such good TV. I love it, guess much the
(44:05):
most perfect crossover between documentary and reality TV. Like it's
just like that faked bread and butter. It's so good,
like watching these women, like and their dance routines, and
like how hard they are pushed just to make the team,
like let alone training after they become a team member,
and now they like pushed into this new style they're
performing at concerts, They're doing all of this great, great stuff.
(44:28):
And I just feel like season three, like it's just
gonna be bigger and better.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah, Get Your Money's Girls, Get Your Money Girl.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
American Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix, All seven episodes
are out now. Let us know what you think dm
us on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Yeah, dm me, I really want to know.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Have I like?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I know, I drew It's kind of a weird parallel,
but I saw so many.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Thank you so much for listening to the Spill today.
If you want more of our brutally honest reviews, we'll
link a bunch of them in our show notes. We
love doing this. Thank you to our team, our producers
manisis Warn't. Our sound production is by Scott's Stronik. If
you haven't already, make sure you follow us on our socials.
We have an Instagram page, we have a TikTok account.
You can find us at this podcast. I'm a Mere
Studios are Style the.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
Furniture from Fenton and Fenton. Visit Venting and Fentin dot
com dot au and.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
We'll be back in your podcast meet tomorrow for a
weekend watch. Bye bye, Na
So you're listening to Amma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and borders
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Hello, and welcome to the spill your daily pop culture Fixed.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
I'm em Burnham and.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm Cassena Luku my god.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I love it when we're podcasting. We hardly ever podcast again.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I know, I know. It's usually me and Laura or
me and Laura and Laura. So it is nice to
do a show together, and particularly today because today we
are doing a brutally honest review of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Yes,
and boy do I have a lot to say.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We love our brutally honest reviews. I feel like everyone
loves our brutally honest reviews the most. Can I say
that this on Weekend Watch? I feel like big contenders
for us. But brutally honest reviews is basically we usually
wait a week after a particular TV show or movie
has come out just to make sure everyone watched it
and everyone's digested so we can give our hard hitting thoughts.
(01:14):
They're always spoilers in these reviews, so if you haven't
watched America's Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. You have to watch
it first before you listen to this episode, So pause here,
go quickly watch all seven episodes on Netflix, and then
come back and listen.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
We're a part of each other's lives forever. You know
what we're going to do weddings.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You're like, when we make this team, we're gonna make
it together because we're such good friends.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
But them, it doesn't always end up like that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
We are really excited that there's a lot of new girls.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Every year.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
The talent just gets better and better and better.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
We've always been told there's one hundred more girls. I
would love to do this job. Everyone's gonna say, well,
they're just cheerleaders. We're really good cheerleaders.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Yeah, but what costs?
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I mean, I churned through it in a day.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
It is so good.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I look, I'm a huge fan of these kinds of shows.
I remember watching Making a Team, which is kind of.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Look, did you watch Making a Team when it came out?
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Not when it first came out. I watched it a
few years ago though, But like, I was a bit
of a fan of that before. So I knew Judy
and Kelly before. You know, this first season came out
on Netflix, which is when kind of the majority of
the world would have seen them. But you know, despite
the fact that we all really love it, there are
definitely a couple of things in the show that I
(02:43):
really want to like dive into a little bit.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Okay, good because I remember when season one came out
last year, the grip it had on society and culture
was just insane. Like everything we wrote on it here
among me, every time we spoke about it on the podcast,
people just wanted more and more and more. There were
so many storylines to dive deep into. There were so
(03:06):
many big takeaways from it. The biggest thing that came
from season one was when audiences realized how little these
women were paid, and that is a big plot line
for season two because I think the best thing about
season two is the success of season one has driven
a lot of the storylines for season two. We're seeing
(03:27):
these women like be pushed into this whole new area
of fame where so many of them are like considered
B listers. Now everyone knows a name and their faces
and they just wanted to cheer for a team essentially,
and they've just become these massive superstars. So we will
be talking a lot about that, but also if you
haven't watched season one, you have to watch that as well.
It is just an absolute culture phenomenon, like everyone is
(03:49):
obsessed with it.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
But let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Okay, I think let's we will get into some of
the pay stuff and some of the deepest storylines. But
I first of all really wanted to start with some
of the body image and mental health stuff that we've
seen through season two. Now, it was a biggest story
in Sea in one, particularly with Victoria, who we know
(04:12):
she left at the end of season one. She's gone
on to now be a Rocket which she's auditioning for
the Rockets now. She was pretty open about her eating
disorder and the way that the pressure that is put
on these girls to be in peak physical condition. Throwing
(04:34):
back to making the team, they're a lot more to
the point about it, because this is like the twenty tens,
so it was okay to call the woman fat who
had zero percent body fat.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I've seen some clips of making the team on TikTok
and it seems very similar to Next Top Model.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
It was.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It's very Next Top Model coded, whereas like here, it
feels a bit they're like kind of tiptoeing around it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
And I think they're doing this on purpose because of
the backlash that it would have gotten. So there is
a particular scene where Kelly is talking about one of
the girls. She's in the kick line. They're like, oh
my god, look at her rolls. They cut to the
poor girl. She's she's kicking her leg up into this
in I'm with her nose and her skin is rolling
over and then they put like a sound effect on it,
(05:15):
like a.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Oh my god, it's awful.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Wait.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
In season two, no making the team. This is year
I did that. I just want to contextualize it on
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Oh that's gross.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
So season two, there's no one outwardly saying you need
to be in shape. They don't talk about it, but
it is under everything. Yeah, a lot of the girls
talk about the pressure, the anxiety and the pressure to
be in this certain shape. You know. We see them
going and eating burgers and takeaway and Chick fil A
and they talk about all of that. But where I'm
(05:49):
coming from, where I watch it from, I watch it
through a lens of I was a model from the
time I was eighteen to twenty four, So it's not
a huge amount of time, but I was pretty And
this is in like two thousand and eight, so we're
talking kind of the peak of this, like top model,
really high pressure environment in terms of like body image.
(06:09):
The modeling industry is very well known for being very,
very hard on women's bodies. I experienced it a lot
in my early years. I have many memories. I remember
one time I was in Paris and I had someone
looked at my book and went, you would be modeling
for five minutes. You are very fat, like to my face.
(06:32):
Oh and I'm eighteen years old and I was like
fifty kilos.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I remember being told they loved you, they just need
you to lose five kilos.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
I've just been a casual five killer.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
I've been told, oh, you look like you just ate
a big bowl of past start when I was doing
a bikini photo shoot, even though I had starved myself
for three days. Like So this is where my brain
goes when I watched this show, because even though they
don't say it, there is an undercurrent there. I can
see it in all of these girls that the amount
of pressure they are pulled under to be in peak
(07:06):
physical condition with not an inch to pinch, and they
say these things. Their words for fat are she's looking
a bit more womanly at the moment, Oh, you look
really shapely. We just really want the girls to fuel
their bodies. Yeah, And it's so passive aggressive because they
(07:27):
can't outwardly say it anymore. And from my point of view,
watching these poor girls who are all incredibly talented athletes,
the dancers, athletes, you see how hard they work and
the way that their bodies look. But those outfits are
like they are scrutinized within an inch of their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I always see it when in the scenes, and a
lot of season two is like the structure is very
repetitive of season one in the sense where the first
few episodes are about like the auditions and the rookies
and the rookies getting cut and trying to make the
team and the makeover and then putting their uniforms on.
So it's the same pattern, but I think season two
dives harder into the storylines. But you're right every time
(08:13):
they do that, a specific episode of where they're trying
on the classic Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's uniform. I look at
that uniform and I'm like, where is like, how are
you able to measure these women and scrutinize their looks
when they literally all look quote unquote stereotypically perfectly thin,
(08:34):
Like they actually look perfect Like I look at those
tiny white shorts that they wear, and I'm like, I
could never wear those shorts. Firstly, my volver is longer
than those shorts.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Oh, like she.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Would be hanging out.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I had two kids. There's no way put.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
No shots, no way those shorts will fit on like
my right arm. And that's it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
You know What's interesting though, if you went back, if
you were like, if you really wanted to get into
the DTCC universe, I would highly recommend going back and
watching making a Team. I don't think it's on any
streaming services. I think you have to kind of pay
on like Apple or something. Okay, good to pay for it.
But it's so much better now. And I know you're
saying you look at these women and you see them
as perfectly skinny and like, yeah, straight sized. I can
(09:16):
tell you right now some of the girls in there
would not have made the team in the early twenty
Like that's in twenty teens because they've got more athletic
butts or legs. I saw more diversity in this second
season of Doll was clubles cheerleaders than I did in
the early seasons of making the team. Isn't that insane?
Speaker 4 (09:37):
That is actually insane.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Because from our perspective, you would look at those goals
and go, they've all got perfect bodies. Yeah, but I'm
telling you right now that the standards that they had
Judy and Kelly had back then, and the way that
they used to say it, and if.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
You want to have those standards and they just can't
say it, and they're probably hating themselves for not being
able to say it.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I can tell you right now they do say it,
but they don't say it went in front of the
camera because they know they would be backlash. And I
guess that's all of this to say, even though they're
not saying it outwardly, And you can hear Judy and
Kelly being like, we really want the girls to fuel
themselves and it's really important that they're focusing on fitness
and nutrition. Those are all coded words of if you
(10:18):
don't fit into your uniform, you're gonna be a cup
from a team.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Yeah, okay, like.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I can almost I don't know if they still do
this now. But I remember again when I was modeling,
I used to have to go into my agency when
I was living in Tokyo. Used to have to go
into my agency every week and they would weigh me
and measure me. If I gained weight, they would hold
back my PERDM so they would keep my pocket money
away from me, so I couldn't buy.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Food that is legal, that's insane.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I was nineteen, and I'm telling you right now these
girls would be under that same kind of pressure.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
It feels wild to me.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, maybe I am overthinking it. Maybe this is just
like my old trauma. Maybe this is like a trauma
response for me. But I swear I look at that
and I go, I can see the way these girls
are responding, and how young they are, how hard they're
working out.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
It's a true response, for sure, because you're hearing those
words and seeing their reactions. But even the way they
respond to Kelly and Judy's criticism no matter what, like
that yes, yes, ma'am having to call them ma'am. And
then even that one scene where Kelly who came back
again this season to try it again because she didn't
she got cut as a rookie last season. She's the
(11:30):
one who famously they made her go brunette and they
cut her.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
She came back, what a trooper.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
But I remember this one specific scene when they were
doing the call in to try on the uniforms and
she got the time wrong, like they sent her two links.
She clicked one link and said one time and the
other links at a different time, and she didn't see
the other link, so she went in a tiny bit late.
And Kelly immediately said, if this was a game day,
you would have missed the bus, and she just like
(11:57):
broke down crying.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
I clicked the wrong link.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
And on this link it said I was at five.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Well, let's says Courtney, because this could be a game
baby bus that you miss Yes, ma'am, can you explained
to Kelly, she's looking at a link this is five.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
No, you're looking at sign up genius.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
So I wrote update, please check your correct time in
the attached file.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
So go to files this is where, and then you'll
check here, and then if you scroll down you'll see.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
If that was a gang babe best.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Kelly, you had missed it, yes, ma'am. H it's just
frustrating because like everything I want to do is perfect.
I just want everything to go perfect, and everything has
been going really well so far, and then I just
don't want them to like I shouldn't be getting emotional
about something like this.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
It's just it's something.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
I could have been avoided if I, like, I guess
quadruple checked. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
She's like, I don't want them to have like any
little hint of like anything that will make me get caught.
And I'm like, these two women hold so much power
over all of these young girls. And when I saw
that scene of her breaking down crying, I was like, oh,
this is so unhealthy.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And you can see that that power as well with
the difference in the energy between the rookies and the veterans,
like you can see it really clearly. The rookies are
literally yes, mamming every because particularly when in a team
like this, well, if you walk away, there's one hundred
girls lined up. Again, I've been told that before by someone.
(13:31):
They said, you can leave, but there's one hundred girls
who would want to take your job in a second.
So that phrasing. They have been told that from day
dot they are lucky to be there, so these rookies.
They are working their butts off to make Kelly, Judy
and sort of to even bigger extent, Charlotte Jones, to
make them happy. And you can see the way they
(13:53):
look at them like, oh, we'll do an I'll do
anything to be on this team or.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Even that random panel of judges that give them the
first go. Initially, Yeah, like the weather reporter, I'm like,
what why you hear man?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Why do you have like I don't about but the
veterans you can see there. I'm never a little bit
more confident in their power. They're a bit more confident
in it. And that is why I have so much
respect for someone like Jada who really spearheading this whole
you know, being paid what there were. Yeah, I really
really respect her for that.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She was introduced in a really interesting way. Like her
thing from the get go has been I really want
to be a team leader. I really want to lead
these girls, but I want to do it my way.
I don't want to do it Judy or Kelly's way.
And when she said that line, I was like, Oh,
something's going to happen. But I also want to touch
on back to the diversity stuff. I feel like a
(14:45):
big pushback from season one was the lack of diversity,
which is really interesting how you said it was even.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Worse in making the team so much worse.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
So season one, I remember I wrote a think piece
about a rookie named Anisha who got cut, who was
off South Asian heritage, and I wrote about how important
was to see someone who looks like you do something
that you couldn't even imagine, someone who looks like you
didn't does and she made it. But then you got cut,
and then you just suddenly slowly saw and it wasn't
like a big deal in the show, but when you
(15:16):
put it all together, you slowly saw all the women
of color rookies get cut from that first initial season,
and you saw some rookies like Kelly Charlie Reese who
are now back in season two. They had really strong
storylines that we followed throughout, and everyone else was kind
of there in the background, and I feel it was
a bit very tokenistick like you would see them there,
(15:37):
so they're like, yep, you can see them, ye days, yeah,
there we go all done. And there was this one
point where Anisha was like cugging another rookie and she
was like, you have to do this for the you
have to do this for the Brown girls, And I
was just like, so beautiful. But I feel like season two,
like what you said, I'm seeing these veterans who have
apparently been there for four or five years, did not
(15:58):
see them at all in season one, are now at
the forefront of the whole of season two with their
storylines like Jada, like Shandy, and they're also the team leaders,
which I feel like is like very very rare, Like
they're all like have such brilliant, great storyline. So I
feel like I'm really happy that DCC has taken that
on board, because I think it was a very loud
(16:19):
voice from the public saying this is really messed up
how all the women of color essentially got cut. But
one of our entertainment writers, Chelsea, wrote a brilliant piece
about Alison Kong, who is a woman of Asian heritage.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Do you remember.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Alison in season two? No, it's because she wasn't interviewed once.
She was like one of the rookies, like was there
and she got chosen to be on the team, and
you probably saw her three times in the background. And
Chelsea's piece is so linked in the show notes Chelsea's
piece is so well done because very similar of how
I felt with a niche. In season one, Chelsea saw
(16:56):
this woman who has like the same heritage as her
getting completely snubbed by the cameras, like and the fact
that she was a rookie and made it into the
actual team and you see glimpses of her dancing and
she's not getting any like negative feedback. She's nailing it.
She's doing it so well. And I feel like the
US is like so multicultural, and it feels like this
is one of those sports that hasn't been as good
(17:18):
at being multicultural, and yet they are, but they're still
choosing to not follow those certain storylines. What I did like, though,
was when they were doing the makeover episode, and we
didn't see this in season one, but we were introduced
to Rosemary, who's a hairstylist and she specializes in making
wigs for black women, and we were able to see Ariel,
(17:39):
who was a rookie, and Amani, who has alopecia, get
their wigs made. And I was just like, that is
not like it shouldn't be amazing, it should be the
bare minimum. But the fact that, like we have this
woman who's as amazing as Rosemary. There as a job
to be able to like work on black hair.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
You say that she see how what she says she's going,
she's gonna be hired recently.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Because apparently in making the team, and this is I
saying apparently because I read a Reddit threat.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
I have seen making the team and what they.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Had to bring their wigs in.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yes, they would have to bring their own wigs in
the black girls, or they would have girls who didn't
know how to do black hair or textured hair would
be doing it and completely destroy their hair. And you
saw that a lot in Top Model as well back
in the day, like any girl with like textured hair
anything different to like a one a like four sea hair,
(18:29):
like they didn't know how to deal with it. And
I was very happy to see that at least one.
I love how they let Jada wear her natural hair.
Oh that's really beautiful. Very early on in making the team,
none of the girls had their natural hair. They were
all wearing like Dallas hair like right, so I guess
(18:50):
there is like again bare minimum like the bars on
the floor here. Yeah, But I did love Armani's storyline
with her alopecia. They thought that was really beautiful when
she went out and did it without her wig, gone
you Muchine, how scary that would have been.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
She looked stunning, She looked beautiful.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
I think what they.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Really honed in amani storyline about pichia is that with
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, yes, you have to be the best
in the world. Yes you have to be super super
fit and agile, and you have to just work work,
works so hard, but you also just have to look
like a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. And a lot of people
get cut because they don't look it. And the fact
(19:30):
that Amani was able to go out there without her
wig and not just a cheerleader, but I feel like a.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Woman in general.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Oh yeah, we always say hair it's not a big deal,
but hair is everything. Fleabag taught us that hair is everything,
and it's like something that's so intrinsic to being a
woman and the where you wear your hair, the way
you style it. And with Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's like hair
is a big part of the routine.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well haiography, you know when they do their hair, flick
up it. She sees how hot Shandy.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Is, oh my, got that photo that's just gone by,
and she.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Goes like, I honestly, I want to kind of do
it now. Wait, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
Okay, she's gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Okay, she guys, yeah, and her hair is just like
and then she looks, I'm not, Oh my.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Gosh, it is stunning.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
We should actually get our producer money in here, because
she actually knows the entire routine.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
I'm a terrible dancer, so I but she That was
And like you said, the hair is such an important
part of like femininity, sexuality. It is intrinsically tied in
with beauty for a lot of women.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
And I think it was so brave for Omani to
do that game without her wigs because I just know
she's not the only woman with alopecia. There are so
many women with alopecia. There are so many young girls
with alopecia who feel like, if you have a condition,
you can't do certain things. And I think she's proof
that you can. And it was just such It was
just such a well done tie in. But yeah, I
(20:59):
feel like a lot of the stuff that happened last season,
in particular, they've tried to address it this season, and
one of the big things that they went over this
season was the pay.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Now again, it's like this kind of passive aggressive way
that they're trying to address it without actually addressing it.
It's like because Judy and Kelly, you know, they can't
talk about it. You know, they've been specifically told by
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the HEADHN shows, they have been specifically
told you cannot talk to Netflix about the girl's pay.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
The way that they tried to be like, look at
all these perks that one episode where they talk through
after all they've made the team, they do like this sponsorship.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Oh yeah, it's like a little like it was like
a series of presentation.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Yeah, it's like a presentation of this is what you
can get from us. You get free hair from us,
you can get free spray tands, you can so and
their boat are free botox, free fellers. All we ask
is that you tag us on socials And they have
this little like clip with one of the girls standing
there and they pan up heer and it goes to
(22:04):
show all the sponsors, all the sponsors, and Kelly's going,
you know, you know, like it's I'm not I was
gonna try and do this Southern accent and a chickened
out and I literally said it out loud when I
was watching it. She's going, you know, these girls they
get like so many Now this is California, Okay, I'm
not going to do it. These girls they get all
of these perks, like this is one of the great
(22:27):
things about being a Dallas Cowboys chillad. You get fitness,
you can make up, like look nails, everything. Back in
my day, you didn't even get any of that. We
had to pay for all of it. And it's expensive.
And I literally screamed at the TV, but that doesn't
pay their rent, Like I screamed at the TV. And
then it wasn't until like two episodes later that I
think it was either Armani or Jada was like, it's
(22:49):
great that we get all these things, but it doesn't
pay my rent.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Yeah, one hundred percent. And we saw later on in
the show pay being quite important to the girls, especially
the veterans. And this was off the back of season
one where all everyone could talk about was how little
these girls were being paid. And a big part of
season one was the head honchos of DCC saying their
(23:13):
payment is getting to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader's for
the honor of it. It's for the honor of it.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
They're not paid a lot, but the facts are is
that they actually don't come here for the money.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
They come here for something that's actually bigger than that.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
To them. They have a passion for dance. There are
not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance
and to get to perform at an elite level, it
is about being a part of something bigger than themselves.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
And we found out that that mascot gets paid more
than them. That the football players are on millions and
millions and millions of dollars, and these girls are getting
paid pennies to the point where they have to sustain
themselves by finding other work. Don't forget that a lot
of these girls move to Texas for this job, so
then they have to find another job in a new town. Yeah,
to have sustain themselves.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Again, it really gets me because it's like for the
honor of it. And again I'm going to tie this
back to modeling because I had this experience many times
when I would when I was working in magazines like
for magazine covers. I did a number of like these
like covers back in the day, one hundred and fifty
dollars for the whole day for a cover, after tax,
commission all of that, I think I ended up with
(24:22):
like fifty dollars. Yeah, and that hadn't changed for twenty years.
And I used to do like when I used to
do Fashion Week, some of the designers would pay you
in clothes that would be pay you contra. So like again,
it really it really pisses me off because it's like
you're not paying like all of these these The honor
of it is great, Yes, it is an honor to
(24:43):
be in this team. There are only a finite number
of women who have been a part of the Dallas
Cowboys cheerleaders. We know that it does not mean they
don't deserve to be paid a livable waight Nana.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
There was a point in the show where we saw
a few of the veterans get together to discuss the
payment issue. It looked like it was spearheaded by Amanda
and Jada on the team and they were on the
skype call with I think there was about five of them,
and they were saying that when we get the contracts,
we're gonna dispute the pay. So before you sign, we're
(25:15):
going to dispute the pay. And a few of the
girls on that call also said that if they don't
get what they want, then they're willing to step down
and give their position.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
To another girl.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
And I think it just showed how serious that these
women take it. And not only that, but like how
bloody smart they are. Yeah, like they know their worth
and especially Jada, who's like who's always said from the
beginning of the season that she wants to do things
her way and be a leader her way. Like the
amount of care they have for the rookies, and they
want the rookies to succeed, and they were so nervous
(25:45):
that they didn't want the rookies to get the bad
idea because these rookies are literally working their guts off,
only to be told by veterans just letting you know,
we're doing this thing about pay. So when you get
your contracts, don't sign it.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
And you know what's interesting, and again it was very
it was glossed over. When they did get their contracts,
the lawyers in HR said, well, if you don't sign it,
you're still bound by it. Yeah, so the girls actually
didn't even sign the contract.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
No, and like, yeah, it's just such a messy situation,
is it is? One hundred was also highly anticipated by
the higher ups.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
These higher ups, they they have capitalized on these women
from calendars to you know them selling, Like, yes, the
brand itself is iconic, but these girls make that brand
and the fact that they can't even pay them a
livable hourly pay is absolutely disgusting. I'm so so happy
that they got a four hundred percent increase.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Yes, and which was great, but it happened. We're also
while a lot of them retired, so like Jada, for example,
doesn't get that increase, but she thought for that, which
is absolutely amazing. We don't actually know how much they
are getting paid. We only know the four hundred percent
increase as reported by the New York Times, but it
just shows I think they were aiming for like seventy
(27:03):
five dollars an hour. Yeah, and it just shows like
it does work. Like and I it is really good
that after season one that everyone made a big deal
about it, Like it wasn't just these girls going we
should get paid more. It was like everyone across the
world going, yeah, you should get paid.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
More, But I mean, I think it's disappointing that they
didn't even start this season off with just giving them
more money. And what I did notice is that Charlotte
didn't do any talking heads this season.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
She came in for like two sets, like we saw
her for two seconds, but.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
She didn't do like any piece cameras, whereas last season
season one she did. And I think it's because she
got so much backclash from season one because she was
talking about what an honor it is, and then season
two she's not really in it. The only time that
she comes in it is during the judging and then
also to announce that these are the girls that have
(27:52):
made the team.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Yeah, it's so interesting. I feel like what really stuck
with me in terms of like the payment for all
of this is literally right at the end of the
last episode where they've finished the whole season and they
make this so dramatic, but they come into a room
with Judy Kelly sitting there and they kind of like
so each girl recaps and reflects their season, and then
(28:15):
she decides whether she wants to audition for the next season,
and if she wants to audition for the next season.
Then she takes her Dallas Cowboys cheerlead this uniform and
puts it on the left rack. If she doesn't want
to audition for the season, she takes a uniform and
puts it on the right rack. And Amanda, who was
part of the whole let's get paid more, kind of
threw a spanner in the works and basically said, I
(28:37):
don't feel valued here. I know I'm valued more than this,
and I just don't feel it here, So I'm not
gonna come back. And Juny and Kelly were like, Okay,
they were so shocked you could tell they were fuming
on the inside.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I but again, I know this is the thing. So
Kelly and Judy, I don't doubt that they care about
these girls. I don't doubt that. I don't doubt that.
Like I don't think Kelly and Judy are getting paid
as much as what people think they are and.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Not getting paid as much as Charlote Jones is.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Getting no exactly, Like, Kelly's house was very modest, Like
it was a lovely home, but it was a modest
home considering she's been heading up the Dallas Cowboys cheer
leaders for what thirty years or something. Like she's been
a part of the organization for a long time. I
don't think she's on like crazy, crazy money. I'm sure
she's doing just fine.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
You can also hear some annoyance in their voices because
they were Dallas Cowboys tats.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
And it's almost like a it's like, I did it
for the love of it. You have no idea? How
about it was when I and I hate that. I
don't like that justification of things because the whole point
of things is that we learn and grow and improve. Yeah, right,
we should look at that as a society and go,
these girls deserve more. They deserve more than fifty bucks.
(29:49):
Again they do that is insane. And to think about
what they're putting their bodies through, Like think about those
jump splits that they're doing. Almost all of them have
like hip issues, knee issues, joint problems.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
We're all hobbling into that. Shandy wasn't like a cushy.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Was in like a full hip thing with this.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
She was on crutches.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Like these women are putting their bodies through a lot.
I mean, I'm really passionate about it because it really
bothers me because it reminds me I have been told
so many times in this like entertainment industry, modeling industry,
you should be grateful. Do you have any people would
want to be in your position? No one sense that's
to a man.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
That's so true, And I does say that to a man,
except for the mascot, we're saying.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
It to you.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yeah, you don't deserve what you're getting paid, your aman hat.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
I think also with the whole pay thing, a big
part of the push that they were able to get
that four hundred percent pay increase was because of the
public perception of that entire show. And we also saw
in season two that the publicity of season one really
changed the formatting of what it takes to be a
(30:52):
Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. What I found really interesting was right
in the beginning, before we even saw the auditions, they
were saying that they had twelve spots to fill in
for rookies, which was the biggest amount of rookies they
had to fill in in the past five years. And
then later in the season you find out that a
lot of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders lot, but there's a
fair few have actually left being a cheerleader to pursue
(31:15):
other things like influencing.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Yeah, and now a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Of these girls who have to have a part time
job on top of being a cheerleader have taken up influencing.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
And that's great because we know that like again, like.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
Reese has her cooking channels like good on her, get
that bad girl like you just serve that, and that's
going to be a lot easier for them to tie
in with their commitments at Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders than you know,
a typical nine to five. And what's really interesting is
seeing Judy and Kelly trying to navigate this newfound fame
for their cheerleaders because the rules of being a Dallas
(31:47):
Cowboys cheerleader hasn't changed regardless of how famous they are.
Like we saw little snippets of girls being cut because
of what they've been posting on their Instagram and things
like they have to now manage these girls reaching this
new found fame, and I think that really came to
lights during the Bahamas trip.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
These few episodes were very like there was the whole
Bahamas storyline with Shandy, So basically they all go to
the Bahamas to have this you know, it's like a
vacation for the whole teape and it's like a treat
to the girls. Again, you're so lucky you get to
go to the Bahamas, but we're not going to pay
you any money Anyway, they go to the Bahamas, they're
all having this wonderful time.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
They're all posting on the station, they're all posting.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
On these socials, and then all of a sudden, Shandy's
taking a leave of absence.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Yeah, and then you see this shot of them on
the bus ride back and they're all just like sad
and solemn.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
And there was just like this kind of cat and
then it was like she's taking a leave of it.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
Everyone's like, something happened at the Bahamas.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Can you explain it to me? Because even now, like
I understand what happened, but I don't really. I'm also,
she had a boy in her room.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
So there's a few things that happened. So Shandy is
one of my favorite people in this show. I feel
like she's been through so much. She was so honest
about opening up about her history. She had an ex
partner that she alleged physically abused her while she was
a DCC, Like she said that she was showing up
(33:08):
with bruises on her. She's come from such an upsetting,
traumatic place, and the fact that she's still able to
do this and also be a team leader and do
it well is just outstanding to me.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
She you know, she she came from she was adopted
into her family, her parents split up, then her dad
just basically said, I don't want to have anything to
do with you anymore, like so awful.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
She's had like an awful, awful time growing up. And
this Bahamas trip, so this was meant to be like
kind of like a teen get together, a big trip
for the girls only, and she goes on this trip,
and what happened is that she was talking about her
relationship a lot, and she was saying how because of
like everything that's happened with her, like it is a
(33:53):
hard relationship. So both her and a partner decided to separate,
to split up. This wasn't known before we found out
about the Bahamas trip, but she said it. During the
Bahamas trip, she said she met a guy that she
got on really really well with and she brought him
back up to her hotel room. She said, nothing happened,
they just like talked a lot.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
Still like but still she's a twenty five year oldl She.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Brought this man backed up to a hotel room. That
was the biggest scandal of the season. Like what it
was like, I said.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
It, I get into like a certain extent if there's
another girl in there that you're like, But haven't you
guys ever been in a KENTICKI trip because way wild
than that.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
I think it was the fact that I don't know,
I feel like when you go on these girls, firstly,
it's a work trip for them essentially, and it's like
all girls, a lot of them are married in long
term partnerships, and I think it's when you're mixing those
girls with like and also a lot of them are
like the born bred Texas girl, very Christian, very Christian,
(34:51):
very conservative, very conservative, and I think when you're mixing
that type of girl with the girl who's like freshly single,
who meets someone who's like looking for an escapism, it clashes.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
And one of the biggest rules for these trips was
like you can't let strangers into the hotels, into your
bedrooms because you're also like share sharing rooms with other girls.
Speaker 4 (35:11):
And stuff like that, because I don't get paid to
the sharing rooms.
Speaker 3 (35:14):
And I think it was extra important that she didn't
do something like this now because they are much more
famous now, so people know who they are. So if
you were to bring a stranger into your room, there
might be a possibility that they actually know who you are,
and it could get a bit like dangerous for the women.
So I see the danger aspect of that bringing a
man into a room that are like full of young women.
(35:36):
I did think they overdramatized it because she was suspended
for a bit, and then when she was suspended, kay
Diana took her spot as team leader. Now it's very
obvious who the team leaders are because they're at the
forefront of the pyramids, the point of the triangle, the
point of the triangle. So what happened here and this
is what we saw blow up last year because this
(35:56):
what we're seeing now on DCC is actually last season's
kind of team twenty four. So when this happened last year,
I just remember like socials, like my instagram read it
just comments and comments and comments on like the DCC
instagram of going what happened to Shandy? Where is Shandy?
Speaker 4 (36:13):
She injured?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
What happened? Because no one actually addressed it. And I
also think this is quite shitty for Ka Deana as well,
because she got pushed into being like a team leader
without the DCC team even addressing why she's a team
leader or why it's not Shandy And this is meant
to be a career defining moment for her, and all
the comments about her are just wear Shandy.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
And by the way, apart from that last episode, she
wasn't in this season.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
No, she wasn't classic at all classic.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
So it was all of a sudden she popped up
and oh, by the way, you're not she's no longer
a DCC and I'm leaving.
Speaker 3 (36:47):
Yeah, Like it was so weird. Okay, so this was
all happening. And then what happened last year was like,
as all this commentary was going on, Ka Deanna decided
to go on TikTok Live and to just like do
like a bit of a Q and A. One of
the questions was what's happened to Shandy? And this is
what she said.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'm gonna make a video on that one day. One
day i will talk about the whole thing.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
So the story could stuck with the breast and so
the story of course, someone screen recorded it, put it
on Reddit.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
They blew it up.
Speaker 5 (37:20):
I didn't even talk about Charie, never said Shandy's name.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
She then said on the show, so this is now DCC.
On the show, she said, I got a call from staff.
They said I was under investigation for being a bully
and harassing. I was officially suspended. At that point, I
just told myself that I needed to take myself out
of the organization and that I needed to respect myself.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
That'sright.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
And she didn't get to go to the banquet, the
last thing that they all get to go.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
This is where we kind of see like a little
bit of Kelly and Judy's favoritism.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Okay, yeah, you reckon.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Oh and this is nothing against Shandy, Like, yeah, I
think she's divine, beautiful, well deserving to where she is. Like,
I understand what Judy says when she says she needs
a hug and she needs a bit more like I
am not putting any of that on her. I do
feel like Katie Anna probably feels like they are favorites
in the group. They're thirty six girls.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
This is gonna be favor And she was also crying
as she said that, like she was so heartbroken that
she got suspended yeah, for not even like saying Shandy's name,
but also just all she did in that video to me,
she was just stand up for us up. And she
even said on DCC that she felt like Shandy got
all the perks of being a team leader while I
got all the work, because being a team leader is
(38:34):
so so hard. And but I think Shandy did a
brilliant job as team leader. I think Katiana looking at
the routines, also did a brilliant job. And imagine like
being at the pinnacle of your career and yet all
everyone's talking about is someone else, and the company you're
working for is refusing to address it. They're like laying
everything on you. So you just go on TikTok and
you say one day I will talk about it, and
(38:56):
then you get signed off for bullying and harassment. And
we obviously don't know the full story, Like they could
be more to it, and I do you think there is?
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I think they has been beef between them before. I
think that there is with this is just my speculation.
This is like I don't know anything here, but this
is how I see it. Thirty six girls and a team.
Kelly and Judy are going to have the girls that
they pick us their favorites. The girls who aren't the
favorites are going to probably have some resentment and anger
(39:28):
towards the girls that are the favorites because there's thirty
six of them. They're not all like sisters all the time.
I can tell you right now, Like thirty six twenty
year olds. Yeah, come on, they don't all love each
other all the time.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
And they how said it on the show like they
are your sisters, but it is like you're still competing.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
For that spot.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
And what I found really interesting is that we also
saw a glimpse of what Victoria's doing now. She's obviously
not a does cobis Chile. The last season we found
out that she wanted to go to New York to
pursue being a Rocket, which is I feel like would
be harder than being a DCZ.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
They get paid better too, they get yeah, rockets get
paid quite like way better.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
So you see her and her mum traveling to New
York for her to pursue her dream. And what I
found really interesting was her mum actually told her your
sisters didn't do their jobs because like when you're a
rookie in this like you're meant to kind of stay
in that like essence of DCC. You're meant to have
these women kind of like push you up and be
there for you and be your friends. And her mom
(40:25):
saying your sisters didn't do their job was just so
telling that she was just kind of pushed.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Out again because she wasn't a favorite, haven't you, Like,
I don't know if you ever did like musical theater
or anything.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
At all, not for me.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Okay, so the theater, like I remember back, you know,
my drama teacher is like there was always like a
bit of whispering whenever we had musical theater or like
shows or plays or anything, and whoever got put in
the lead, there was always one girl who was like
the drama teacher's favorite, and there was always gossipy behind
the scenes of like the other girls who didn't get
that lead role. Talking about that, but like it's very
(41:01):
much that's the vibe I'm getting. I'm I one hundred
percent think there are favorites in that group, and the
girls who aren't the favorites not that's just the ones
that haven't been seen by Netflix. So I'm not even
talking about Netflix production. I'm talking about favorites of Kelly
and Judy and maybe to a lesser extent, Charlotte, but
their favorites, like even the whole thing of like you're
(41:24):
gonna get picked for.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
Certain things, Yeah, I think, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
So I think poor Katiana has been like at the
end of her tether and was like, I'm so sick
of being like I'm doing all of his hard work.
Chandi's getting all of these not that she doesn't deserve it,
but like what about me?
Speaker 4 (41:41):
It's so true.
Speaker 3 (41:42):
And I do think after the last episode where we
saw Amanda walk out saying she doesn't feel valued here,
especially with the pay stuff, I do think if there
is going to be a season three, the stakes are
going to be so much higher because I think every
time after one of these seasons, the public just go
wild over a certain thing, and then that kind of
fuels the storyline for the next season.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
I think it's really important and I really hope that
through this show these girls are able to gain a
bit of power, which we have seen from season one.
Season two. You know, they still are really vulnerable. These
women are still at the bottom of the food.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
Chain, and we're darker storyline.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
And you know, the anxiety, the pressure, what they put
through is a lot. I really hope that after this
season they can continue to gain some of their power
because the more social media following, the more that they
have that behind them, the more ammo they have when
they go into these negotiations, because you need to be
able to show value to people like this because the
(42:45):
higher ups see dollar signs on them. Yeah, see it
that they are disposable toys to these higher ups.
Speaker 3 (42:53):
Unfortunately, I want a battle.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
I again, if you get a chance, go watch Making
a Team because you'll see how much worse it was.
Speaker 4 (42:59):
I can just feel myself like these.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Girls have so much more power than what the girls
did not even a decade ago. It was like seven
years ago. I highly recommend it. If you want to cringe,
watch Making the Team.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
Okay, but look.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
Yeah, I'm again. I know I keep taking it back
to this, but it really brings back a lot of
memories of being in the modeling industry, being in the
entertainment industry in my early years, and really feeling powerless
and feeling like I just had to be particularly when
I was modeling when I was like seventeen eighteen in
a room full of fully grown adults. I'm still a
(43:35):
teenager at this time. I'm in a room full of
fully grown adults, and I'm expected to be a good girl.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Yeah, And that is what I see in a lot
of these goals, especially the rookies, especially the rookies, and
I hope that as time progresses, they are able to
gain some of that power because they deserve it, because
they work, you can see how Yeah, And like I
think the public's push for that has just been so
good for it. But like, overall this season it's just
like such good TV. I love it, guess much the
(44:05):
most perfect crossover between documentary and reality TV. Like it's
just like that faked bread and butter. It's so good,
like watching these women, like and their dance routines, and
like how hard they are pushed just to make the team,
like let alone training after they become a team member,
and now they like pushed into this new style they're
performing at concerts, They're doing all of this great, great stuff.
(44:28):
And I just feel like season three, like it's just
gonna be bigger and better.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah, Get Your Money's Girls, Get Your Money Girl.
Speaker 3 (44:35):
American Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix, All seven episodes
are out now. Let us know what you think dm
us on Instagram.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Yeah, dm me, I really want to know.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Have I like?
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I know, I drew It's kind of a weird parallel,
but I saw so many.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Thank you so much for listening to the Spill today.
If you want more of our brutally honest reviews, we'll
link a bunch of them in our show notes. We
love doing this. Thank you to our team, our producers
manisis Warn't. Our sound production is by Scott's Stronik. If
you haven't already, make sure you follow us on our socials.
We have an Instagram page, we have a TikTok account.
You can find us at this podcast. I'm a Mere
Studios are Style the.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
Furniture from Fenton and Fenton. Visit Venting and Fentin dot
com dot au and.
Speaker 3 (45:16):
We'll be back in your podcast meet tomorrow for a
weekend watch. Bye bye, Na
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