Queen of Ireland Panti Bliss called in the cavalry for her most recent performance on Dancing with the Stars and fellow drag icons Veda Lady and Shirley Temple Bar were more than ready to answer the call.
On Sunday, January 29, the weekly episode of the show was all about the movies, with the contestants performing to songs from movie soundtracks. Together with pro dancer Denys Samson, the drag trio took the stage and danced to ‘The Witches are Back’ from the movie Hocus Pocus 2.
With Panti playing Winifred, Shirley impersonating Sarah and Veda taking on the role of Mary, the three drag queens bewitched the Dancing with the Stars judges and fans alike with their incredible performance. Panti and Denys received a total of 22 points for the dance, getting through to next week’s episode.
One of the judges praised their performance saying that “the madness of it all was absolutely fantastic” and claimed that Panti had “put a spell” on him. The other judges called their dance “magical” and “bewitching” and praised them for their creativity.
There was a shout out for the costume department from @PantiBliss tonight and she’s so right, these Hocus Pocus costumes were so good! (Pic via @LadyVeda’s insta) @shirleybar pic.twitter.com/A82hrp91gp
— Conor Behan (@ItsConorBehan) January 29, 2023
These are not the only positive comments that Panti has received since she partnered with pro dancer Denys Samson to become the first same-sex pairing to appear in Ireland’s Dancing with the Stars. In an interview with The Irish Sun, Rory O’Neill, aka Panti, said that he was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction that his role on the show has sparked.
“I’m surprised because, in all the other things that I do, you don’t have to go far into my Twitter replies to find really nasty stuff,” he said. “But in this case, there’s been almost none of it, I think because homophobes aren’t watching Dancing with the Stars.”
With a laugh, he commented, “If you have a problem with the gays, it’s not really the show for you, is it?” He also shared that he received some positive messages from parents “saying that it’s nice their kids are being introduced to queer people through a family entertainment show”.
Lots of fun on #DWTSIRL tonight. Vote for Panti! Text PANTI to 53125 ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/NrfYUy3iU8
— Shirley Temple Bar (@shirleybar) January 29, 2023
“That’s been nice, because that is what I was thinking about when I was thinking about being the first same-sex couple on it,” O’Neill said. “I think it is nice that there are kids out there who might be learning about people like me through the telly, with their ma there to answer questions on Sunday night, rather than learning about it in the schoolyard through some awful joke or bullying.”
Speaking about what it’s like to perform in drag, Panti said: “I’m the only one doing it with a wig glued to me face, my eyebrows glued down, three layers of foam rubber and padding and corsetry on.”
She said that she and her dancing partner have discussed the possibility to switch roles, with Denys saying he is open to performing in drag. “It has definitely come up and he would be totally up for it,” Panti said. “If anyone is slightly resistant it’s me because I want to be the pretty one in this relationship.”
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