Ilona Maher has finally explained the hilariously awkward hand gesture that caught viewers’ attention during a live episode of Dancing With the Stars — and her reaction suggests she knew almost immediately how badly it had come across on camera.
The Olympic rugby star and Season 33 runner-up returned to the DWTS ballroom on September 29, sitting in the audience alongside her former professional partner Alan Bersten and former contestant Andy Richter.
During the broadcast, host Alfonso Ribeiro mentioned Maher’s upcoming appearance on the official Dancing With the Stars podcast.
As the camera focused on the group, Maher enthusiastically pointed toward the people around her before attempting to mime speaking into a microphone.
Unfortunately, the hand motion didn’t look the way she intended.
Maher immediately appeared to realize the gesture could be interpreted very differently. She quickly stopped, winced and covered her mouth while Bersten, her sister Olivia and others nearby burst into laughter.
Her instant embarrassment only made the unscripted moment even funnier for viewers.
When Maher later appeared on the DWTS podcast, Andy Richter brought up the incident and reminded her that she had seemed to recognize almost instantly what the gesture looked like.
Maher insisted the explanation was completely innocent: she had simply been pretending to hold a microphone while promoting the podcast.
She admitted that as soon as she saw what she had done, her immediate thought was essentially, “What did I just do there?” Bersten also came to her defense, explaining that Maher hadn’t realized the podcast setup didn’t actually require them to hold microphones.
Maher later addressed the moment on social media as well, joking that trying to imitate talking into a microphone apparently does not translate particularly well through hand gestures.
The awkward moment was a reminder of exactly why viewers enjoyed Maher during Season 33. Whether she was competing alongside Bersten or simply sitting in the ballroom audience, her spontaneous reactions and willingness to laugh at herself continue to make her one of DWTS’ most memorable recent contestants.
