Source: Entertainment Weekly

Though he may not sit on the judges’ panel, Andy Richter’s support as the unofficial “People’s Princess” of Dancing With the Stars season 34 counts for a lot. That means this finalist just got a major boost.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly a week after he was sent packing from the heated competition, and just one day after The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt’s controversial elimination, Richter weighed in on the five finalists left to duke it out for the ultimate honors: wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, influencer Alix Earle, actress Elaine Hendrix, Olympian Jordan Chiles, and content creator Dylan Efron.

“If you’re asking me as an oddsmaker, it would be Robert, because Robert is just sunshine,” he said. “Everybody’s fantastic, everybody is [an] amazing dancer, but there’s something special about him and his energy. There were times I’d be like, ‘Is he really that positive?’ And you know, yes, he is just enthusiasm on two legs.”

The comedian and late-night mainstay said his former competitor “just is a wonderful, wonderful person, and then a world-class athlete on top of it. There’s just something very magnetic about him, where there’s a lot of star power.”

That being said, he also had a kind word for every other contender who lasted the 10 grueling weeks of cutthroat competition.

Earle: “F—ing phenomenal. I shouldn’t say f—. Alix is phenomenal. Alix is an amazing dancer, and absolutely lovely, a sweetheart of a person.” Hendrix: “Incredible. Elaine and I knew each other from prior times too. We knew each other and we were friendly before. So, I mean, to see what she’s done and what she’s come through, she absolutely deserves to hold whatever trophy they want to give her.” Chiles: “Fantastic,” and, perhaps, “a little bit underscored.” Efron: “Dylan came in there with as much dance experience as I had, and he’s in the finale and he’s doing great.”

“I could see any one of them winning,” Richter said. “There’s nobody there that doesn’t 110 percent deserve to be there and is not 110 percent deserving of winning that thing.”

Richter himself had a memorable run on the show. Foxtrotting and quickstepping his way all the way to week 9, Richter outlasted several of his competitors who had higher scores and were seen as having a competitive advantage over him. It’s something he told EW he felt a bit of guilt over.

“There were times I felt survivor’s guilt. But I don’t really feel regret about that, about other people being eliminated before me, because that isn’t anything I really had any control over,” he shared.

Irwin, meanwhile, has blazed through the competition, scoring the highest in last week’s semifinals with pro partner Witney Carson. On the eve of the finale, Irwin shouted Carson out in a heartfelt post on Instagram, writing, “Dancing With the Stars has changed my life in a lot of ways. But being part of this experience with Witney has been my favourite part. We’ve made it to the finale, and it’s bittersweet… one last chance to dance.”

The Dancing With the Stars season 34 finale airs Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.

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