Andy Richter Makes Bold Confession About Competing on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Michelle Stein December 6, 2025, 1:15 pm

Andy Richter and Emma Slater — Disney/Andrew Eccles

What To Know

Andy Richter revealed on a podcast that he found the idea of competing on Dancing With the Stars initially terrifying.
He credited his professional partner, Emma Slater, for her supportive teaching style and acknowledged that his dancing skills were not on par with the show’s “real dancers.”
Richter humorously described himself as “a rhino in a gazelle contest,” embracing his limitations and the unexpected popularity of his “People’s Princess” nickname.

Andy Richter made a bold confession about competing on Dancing With the Stars Season 34.

On the December 6 episode of the Wait Wait… Don’t Gell Me! podcast, Conan O’Brien‘s former late-night sidekick dished on what it was like starring on the ABC competition series. Richter, 59, competed with his pro dancer partner, Emma Slater, 36, making it to the Top 7 before their elimination — much further than many initially predicted.

At the beginning of the interview, he clarified the origin of his “The People’s Princess” nickname on DWTS.

“It wasn’t the judges,” he explained. “It was just somebody online started calling me the People’s Princess, which is incredibly flattering. And I am really hoping for a tiara for Christmas.”

When asked if he ever had aspirations of competing on DTWS before he was invited to join Season 34, Richter bluntly admitted, “It always seemed like a terrifying prospect. And then I didn’t work too much for a little while, and it seemed kind of a good idea.”

‘Dancing With the Stars’: Sharna Burgess Talks Toxicity Rumors

Richter explained that his first instinct was, “Say no, and don’t tell my wife that they asked.” However, “a minute late, I felt like, ‘I have to do this.’ And then as it got closer, I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ve made a terrible mistake.'”

However, he called Slater “an angel” and an “amazingly talented person” throughout the process. “She understood me,” he pointed out. “She understood how to, like, teach me. Because I don’t enjoy being pushed.”

Richter also acknowledged that his dancing wasn’t up to par with the “real dancers.”

“I tried to emulate the real dancers because I would do the dance that we were doing that week and think, ‘Oh, I really nailed that one, I really got it,'” he shared. “And then we would look — because we’d record it on our phones — and I’d look at it on the phone, and I’m like, ‘Look at that old man stomping around, waving his arms.’ When I do it, it does not look like the way the dancers do.'”

To conclude his reflection, Richter bluntly confessed, “I was a rhino in a gazelle contest. I’m never going to be a gazelle.”