Selma Blair on Her ‘DWTS’ Performance That Brought Audience to Tears (Exclusive)

Selma Blair, who was diagnosed with MS in 2016, brought everyone to tears when she left her cane behind and danced her way to tie for third place on the premiere of “Dancing with the Stars.”

“Extra’s” Jenn Lahmers caught up with Selma, and her son Arthur, after the show.

Jenn told Selma she had tears in her eyes watching her, asking, “What was it like for you?”

“It felt amazing,” Blair said. “I actually never had a dance before with anyone… I never had someone ask me to dance in that way. To learn at least one dance, I mean the gratitude. To have Sasha [Farber] hold me in a frame so I could leave my walking assistance behind and feel like, ‘Wow, he can help me be fluid and move,’ and knowing how much support from people literally, physically, and figuratively, what it means and it feels so good… it did, it felt like a fairy tale.”

Lahmers continued, “Tell me about that moment you let go of the cane and you started dancing with Sasha.”

“My cane has been amazing… I have such balance issues… I have such love for my cane, for all my canes, but to leave it behind and say, ‘I am going to have a person support me now,’ it’s a totally new thing, physically… I have been a single mom. I’ve always loved supporting people, and then to have so many people support me, heaven.”

Blair added, “I’m so proud, I am so proud of Sasha for really convincing me that… he wouldn’t let me go and I feel good, I feel good, physically I feel good and I am getting stronger.”

She said of getting stronger, “The main thing was I had really kind of stalled in a point of recovery. I just couldn’t get motivated to get stronger… Then this opportunity came and for the first time in my life I was like, ‘Yeah, it makes sense…’ I want to start learning how to build myself up again. Even though I am comfortable with myself, I have been not that strong. I just want to say, I think that people might look at MS or chronic illnesses as one thing, but all of us in the community know, it’s just as varied as everyone else everywhere, and with support it’s amazing what we can do.”

Smiling, she shared, “I so want to show this kiddo we can do things we’re not initially comfortable with.”

Arthur, 11, said, “Yeah, I am really proud of her,” with Selma calling it “amazing” having him there.