Whitney Leavitt reveals she thought her ‘villain’ persona would ‘carry over’ to ‘DWTS’

Whitney Leavitt may have left the ballroom, but that doesn’t stop her from taking center stage.

A day after the final episode of Dancing with the Stars aired on ABC, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 32, appeared on the Nov. 26 episode of Call Her Daddy with dance partner Mark Ballas.

Podcast host Alex Cooper gave Whitney the opportunity to perform a freestyle routine that she wasn’t able to perform on DWTS, as well as give Whitney the opportunity to announce her appearance in the film.

At the beginning of the episode, which was recorded before the DWTS finals, Whitney confessed that she felt a “roller coaster of emotions” after being eliminated in the semifinals. “I feel grateful, but I also feel sad,” she said.

She also opened up about the backlash she and Mark faced, noting that she received criticism for having a dance background since she earned a degree in modern dance from Brigham Young University. “(In terms of her dance experience), this was still very new to me,” Whitney began.

Whitney also said she learned how to deal with DWTS viewers amid the backlash. Even though he was “used to hate” thanks to his role on Mormon Wives, he still had to watch Mark deal with an onslaught of online criticism every week.

“I was already aware of the persona I was playing in the media,” Whitney said of being considered the “villain” in “Mormon Housewives.” “I felt like that carried over into Dancing with the Stars.”

Whitney said the “hardest part” of the backlash was watching Mark’s reaction.

“I went through it, but for someone I loved and cared about to go through that, it ended up hurting me,” she said. “Then we went through it together.”

Whitney said she was “definitely a little desensitized” to negative feedback, but said it was “inspiring” to see someone experience it for the first time.

“Sometimes I felt like it was my fault, like, ‘Oh, maybe it’s my fault. Maybe it’s because he’s partnered with me,'” she said. “So I felt like it was my fault. It was just a roller coaster of emotions at the time.”

Mark also shared one of the many “merciless” comments he received: “Are you that cheap to be rotten and do this? Damn, you’re special. You’re totally worthless, and I hope you burn in hell someday.”

The pair also acknowledged that the increase in hateful comments started after the five-week milestone, the night of dedication. “It just exploded and then headed south,” Whitney said.

She also acknowledged that the premiere of Season 3 of The Mormon Wife a few days before her elimination may have contributed to the change in opinion.

During the airing of The Mormon Wife, she candidly said that she rejoined the show to audition for DWTS. “It was very clear why we came back that season,” the audience response was divided. “You either respected that or you thought, ‘Oh my god,'” Whitney said.

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Whitney suspects that may have been a contributing factor, but Mark said that while he “doesn’t know much” about the Mormon Wives drama, he “couldn’t even pinpoint” the cause of Mormon Wives’ exclusion. “Sometimes things like this happen,” he said.

“With such an overlap in the cast, so much talent, and so much great talent all over the place, I think we’re at the point where we don’t know the outcome of the vote,” Mark said. “Maybe in one week, people who have been voting unilaterally will say, ‘You know what? I’m going to cast this vote this way.'”

During the DWTS Season 34 finale, Whitney told Variety that she would be returning for Season 4 of Mormon Wives.

The podcast appearance comes after Whitney tearfully shared the lessons she learned from the competition in an Instagram video on Thursday, Nov. 20.

“I want to speak from the heart and share what I’m feeling,” the reality star began. “I share the good, I share the bad, I share the ugly. So I’m going to keep doing that.”

Whitney continued through tears. “When you’re on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ you’re seeing these people for hours every day. And then it goes away. It really feels like a breakup. I feel like I’m going through withdrawal right now. I felt really weird today.”

Whitney ended the video by thanking Mark and saying she would “forever be grateful” for their friendship.

“Well, I loved everything about it, but one of the things I loved the most that I didn’t expect was that I got a lifelong friend, a friend who makes fart noises every day,” she added of Ballas. I really appreciate it. I love you all. And I love this show. ”