Mary Lou Retton's 'DWTS' partner shares health update

[ificandream]

CNN

“Dancing With the Stars” pro Sasha Farber says his former dance partner, retired Olympian Mary Lou Retton, is “fighting” for her health.

(snip)

Farber, who partnered with Retton during Season 27 of “DWTS” in 2018, told “Entertainment Tonight” that he had spoken with her.

“I’ve been talking to her today and she’s fighting,” said Farber, who this season is competing on the show with actress Alyson Hannigan. “She kind of wants to give up, but I’m sending her videos of her dancing and I’m telling her, ‘There’s only one Mary Lou Retton. You’ve got this!’”

(snip)

“She’s a fighter. She’s going to be great,” he said. “I know her very well. And she’s like family to me and she’s a fighter… she’s strong. She’s strong.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/entertainment/mary-lou-sasha-farber-health/index.html

[MontanaMama]

1. And she's uninsured

so others pick up the tab for her.

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/10/12/mary-lou-rettons-lack-of-insurance-raises-questions-as-crowdfunding-passes-250000/

[underpants]

2. Campaigned for Repubs who opposed healthcare

One of the thoughts on Twitter is that her daughters are trying to preserve their inheritance

[MontanaMama]

6. yep. She's a nutter.

a freeloading nutter.

[BigmanPigman]

10. I didn't know that.

When I read about her situation 2 days ago I wondered why she didn't have health insur when anyone can get it now (even those who are not employed or married to a spouse with insur). That didn't garner much empathy for her situation from me. Now to learn about her political leanings I have no empathy at all. I have had to pay over $150,000 during my lifetime for health insurance before the ACA and I am her age and living at "near poverty level" in CA. No way would I contribute to her "go fund me" BS.

[underpants]

11. I had no idea either

I saw a post on Twitter and went looking. She campaigned for Reagan.

[MontanaMama]

18. Right?

Pisses me off. I pay $1925 a month for a bronze plan for my little family of 3. It’s the only plan I can get in MT. I’m 58 and my portion of that plan is $780 per month. So she can’t pay that for her own health insurance? She’s a freeloader.

[Freethinker65]

5. Why didn't she enroll in one of those Religious health cooperative pools?

She obviously has/had money.

[Jacson6]

17. If she was insured then others would still pick up the tab.

[MontanaMama]

19. If she were insured

then no one else would have to.

[Jacson6]

21. She probably would have had a gofundme to pay here co-pay and deductible if she had insurance.

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. IDGAF what her politics are

I just wish her the best. I'm a nurse although retired now. I've seen a lot of sick people on vents, insured and not, and my focus was and is always on getting them better. I mean, sure, I wonder why she's not insured, but that's not my call or my thing right now. I just want her to get better.

[Demovictory9]

4. $333,000 has been donated for her as of yesterday

[Jilly_in_VA]

7. None from me.

I have my own medical bills to deal with.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. More history...

Retton joined officials from USA Gymnastics to unsuccessfully lobby Feinstein against passing the bill, also known as the Safe Sport Act, which would make it mandatory for national governing bodies of Olympics sports, such as USA Gymnastics, to report sexual assault to the police, the New York Times reported in 2017. Retton, “the smiling, bubbly sweetheart from the 1984 Games,” was brought along for PR purposes, the New York Times said, to let Feinstein know that the federation’s policies were solid and that gymnastics “was a happy, safe place.” Through bipartisan support, the bill eventually became law, signed by Donald Trump in 2018.

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/10/12/mary-lou-rettons-lack-of-insurance-raises-questions-as-crowdfunding-passes-250000/

[Aristus]

9. She also said something along the lines of "You won't get abused if you go to a reputable gym."

So, blame the victim, basically.

[littlemissmartypants]

14. More of the "happy, safe place" theory.

Like church, where the "not a drag queens" youth pastors are known to predate.

[blueknight73]

12. I read earlier

she has a net worth of 8 million dollars. Yet, her family is begging for money. She was a BIG Trump supporter. I would'nt give her a dime

[Tanuki]

13. Can you cite a source for claiming she was a Trump supporter?

I've looked and can't find anything.

[Bucky]

20. Here's a disturbing article that lays out her politics

It's not terribly Trump related, but her behavior absolutely aligns with support for Trump

https://themedalcount.com/2020/01/23/there-is-no-defense-for-the-actions-of-mary-lou-retton/

The essay, really an editorial, vehemently calls her out for backing the USGS during the controversy over the gymnastics organization failing to protect young female athletes from sexual predators.

The tragedy with Mary Lou, unfortunately is that as a self-employed 50something woman, she probably found her insurance premiums too steep to afford, despite having a net worth of $6mil.

She really is a national treasure. Her sports career was legendary and she inspired a generation of young girls to get out there and get active. It's of course a shame that for all her Christian values she couldn't support candidates who believed in affordable healthcare policies, but she's hardly alone among America's seven digit millionaires.

It's an absurdity that anyone with a treatable pneumonia condition has to slip close to the edge of death because our country's hospital costs are so unregulated. We have the technology and resources to make sure no one has to die needlessly, or has to watch their treatable medical condition get progressively worse over simple affordability questions.

We should be a better country than this

[twodogsbarking]

15. I hope she recovers and buys health insurance. Good grief.

[RicROC]

16. My brother was a Trumper...

who voted against his best interest for obtaining health care, didn't have enough money to buy his own insurance, resisted going to a doctor for his stomach pain from 'food poisoning' (his diagnosis from his high school education) and then died from covid within 3 weeks.

For years, I tried to reason with him about his health care, but then I decided that he made his own decision and I would refuse to pay for any medical costs. If he needed to pay for medical care, there are plenty of like-minded Trumpers in Georgia from whom he would have to tap.