Osmond Blames Allergies and Bad Air Quality for Faint

Oct. 24, 2007 — -- Marie Osmond's post-samba faint on "Dancing With the Stars" Monday night didn't mean the end to her run on the show.

Billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his partner, Kym Johnson, who tied with Osmond and her partner, Jonathan Roberts, for last place, were eliminated.

Cuban, who said he lost 30 pounds during the course of the show, accepted the loss gracefully.

"I gained so many new friends, I've gained such an appreciation for the effort that everyone puts in. It's been such an amazing experience. I wouldn't have traded it for the world," Cuban said.

Many people, though, were more interested to hear from Osmond, who said an "accumulation" of factors had contributed to her fall, including allergies and poor air quality.

"I noticed when he [Roberts] spun me a couple of times, I kept spinning," Osmond told the show's host Tom Bergeron. "And then I kept missing hip bumps. I could tell something was funky."

Osmond appeared fine during the dance, and she seemed happy and excited by her performance — even jumping up and down in front of the judges.

"Remember when I was jumping? I was trying to wake my head up. I don't know what happened," she said.

Bergeron suggested that the various California wildfires -- the closest burned just 20 miles or so from ABC studios in Burbank as the show aired -- may have aggravated her allergies.

"I'm sure it was an accumulation of things," Osmond said.

Osmond also mentioned her divorce from her husband of 20 years, Brian Blosil, which the couple announced in March.

"I'm divorced, but I'm still going through stuff … and every woman will understand," Osmond said.

But Osmond, who laughed off the fall, said she wasn't worried about it hurting her chances in the competition.

"Tragedy plus time equals humor," Osmond said. "With all sincerity, I'm a jokester. After 40 years in this business, you can take spins in many directions."

Hitting the Floor

Osmond was listening to judge Len Goodman's critique of her dance with partner Roberts when she suddenly fell to the ground.

The audience members laughed — until they realized it was the real thing. Osmond had fainted.

"For just a beat, I thought as the audience did that she was kidding,"Bergeron told "Good Morning America" today in a phone interview. "I thought she was responding to Len taking so long to get to his critique."

Goodman was saying that the samba is one of the hardest dances to master when Osmond went down. The show quickly cut to a commercial.

Emergency medical technicians were on hand and responded immediately, but Bergeron said Osmond began to come around about 20 seconds after they cut to the break.

"Her eyelids were fluttering open," Bergeron said.

And her first words as she regained consciousness and saw everyone gathered around her? "Oh, crap," Bergeron said.

Later, Osmond explained what happened, and while she apologized for fainting, she was taking it in stride.

"Once in a while it happens to me when I'm winded. I'm really sorry," she said. Then with a laugh, she added, "I guess I am sleeping beauty. I'm sleeping on the job."

Bergeron said Osmond was breathing heavily after the dance, which is normal, but she tried to hold her breath to slow down her breathing, which likely lead to her fainting.

No Sympathy Votes

Osmond, 48, was well enough to hear the judges render their scores for her samba.

Unfortunately, she received no sympathy votes, as the judges' votes had been already recorded before she fainted. All three judges -- Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli -- awarded Osmond and Roberts a seven out 10 points.

That put the couple in last place, along with billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his professional partner, Kym Johnson.

"Scary Spice" Melanie Brown and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy came in first place in Monday's samba and rhumba competition, with 29 out of 30 points.

Cheetah girl Sabrina Bryan and her partner Mark Ballas Jr. were close behind, with 28 points.

Cameron Mathison and Edyta Sliwinska, and Jane Seymour and Tony Dovolani both received 26 points, while Jennie Garth and Derek Hough got 25 out of 30 points.

Bergeron said EMTs have been standing by since the first season of "Dancing With the Stars."

"It's very strenuous. You never know what's going to happen on live television," he said.