‘Dancing With the Stars’: Connor Wood & Jennifer Lawrence’s Smoothie Exchange, Explained

Connor Wood has opened himself up to a whole new audience as a contestant in Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, but amid his time on the show, he’s also caught the attention of his celebrity crush, Jennifer Lawrence. In fact, the pair’s social media interaction in October quickly went viral and still has fans talking to this day.

It all started with Wood and his DWTS partner Rylee Arnold‘s BuzzFeed Celeb interview, which was published on October 20. Wood named Lawrence as his celebrity crush and said, “I want, like, a Paige DeSorbo moment now, where Paige DeSorbo just spoke it into existence,” he explained. “I just want a little acknowledgment from Jennifer Lawrence that I’m funny and that’s all I need.”

Wood added, “No offense, Paige, but I wanted that first. I should have said it out loud. Jennifer, I need something good to happen to me fast.”

Well, Lawrence caught wind of the request and commented on an Instagram video of the interview clip, “I saw you on 8th Avenue drinking a smoothie and you paid me no mind.” When Wood found out about the comment, he was devastated that he lost his chance to meet his idol in person, and Arnold posted a TikTok of his reaction.

“She saw you and she knew who you were,” Arnold pointed out, urging Wood not to be upset. It was too late, as he jokingly choked himself. “I’m always just staring off [when I’m drinking smoothies],” he explained.

Wood then repeated Lawrence’s comment out loud multiple times, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. The quote has since become a viral social media bit, especially among the DWTS cast. For Halloween, Julia Stiles even dressed as the “8th Avenue smoothie,” while Ezra Sosa went as Wood.

Related

'DWTS': Derek Hough Predicts Connor Wood Will Make Finale

After the situation made headlines, Wood confirmed to Us Weekly on October 28 that he “reached out” to Lawrence and her team, but hadn’t heard back from her at that point. He also teamed up with Smoothie King for a collab on the Connor’s Paid Me No Mind Smoothie, which launched last week.

And while this has all been quite fun, Wood is also focused on winning the DWTS Mirrorball trophy with Arnold. They are one of seven teams remaining in the competition and will next take the ballroom floor on November 10 for Grammy Night.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+