The former “villain” of reality became a Broadway and film star.

Whitney Leavitt was named the most annoying contestant on the show “Secret Wives of Mormons” for two years in a row. Today she plays the main role in the oldest musical on Broadway, acts in films and admits: without haters, this path might not have happened.

It all started, of course, not on Broadway, xrust chills the reader. In 2021, Leavitt was one of the members of the closed TikTok community “MomTok” — a group of moms from Utah who made joint videos about motherhood, faith and everyday little things. The format has gone so far that Hulu has turned it into a reality show, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a cross between “House 2” and “The Real Housewives,” but with a Mormon flavor instead of glamour.

Already in the first season, the producers found the ideal villain. Leavitt quarreled with her friends on camera, defiantly left the general chat, and after each scandal she played the offended side. Viewers reacted predictably: social networks accused her of bullying and toxicity, and the heroine herself responded by making TikToks with the caption “I don’t remember something like that” — hinting at editing.

From villain-edit to revenge

By the third season, the plot took an unexpected turn. Leavitt admitted that she returned to the project not for the sake of friendship, but to get a chance to get into the American analogue of “Dancing with the Stars” — DWTS. Part of the audience took this as another confirmation of the heroine’s cynicism. But the opposite happened: as soon as Leavitt stepped onto the floor with professional partner Mark Ballas, the show unexpectedly showed a different side — tenacious, disciplined and clearly caring about the result.

For several weeks in a row, the judges gave her some of the highest scores of the season. At the same time, the information war continued behind the scenes: part of the fan base voted against her precisely because of the reputation she had earned on another show. As a result, the couple was eliminated in the semifinals — despite the fact that on points they clearly qualified for the final. Surprisingly, it was at this stage that the tone of online comments began to change: people who had recently written angry posts began to admit that she really danced hard.

Dance floor partner Mark Ballas later explained this metamorphosis simply: according to him, in the project, Leavitt finally got the opportunity to be herself, without the montage image of a villainess pasted on by another show.

Prize for the “villain”: role on Broadway

The denouement was spectacular. Literally the day after leaving DWTS, Leavitt was contacted by the team of the musical “Chicago,” the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, and invited to an in-person casting in New York. The role turned out to be almost prophetic: Leavitt got the role of Roxie Hart, a heroine who also builds a career on scandalous fame and the ability to turn public opinion in her favor.

The debut took place in February at the Ambassador Theater — with a full hall, applause and support from her husband, childhood friends and some of her former reality colleagues. During its run, the production starring Leavitt set a new box office record in the musical's 29-year history on Broadway — a rare case when a reality TV star confirms her status not with ratings, but with ticket sales.

At the same time, cinema has also caught up: Leavitt announced work on her feature-length debut — a Christmas romantic comedy, where she not only plays the main role, but also serves as an executive producer. Leavitt called her character, who is looking for love through a dating app, close to her spirit — and added that she is not going to stop: her next goal is a full-time career as a film actress.

Why it works

Leavitt's story is almost a textbook example of how the reality industry monetizes audience hatred. Villain editing has long become a professional tool, like good lighting or off-screen music: producers deliberately choose one character to play the role of an irritant, because arguments in the comments hold attention more effectively than the mutual sympathy of the participants. Russian viewers will recognize similar mechanics from “House-2” and “The Bachelor”: the scandalous heroine of the season often left the project with advertising contracts, which the more “convenient” participants did not receive.

The difference is that Leavitt managed to go through three steps of this ladder at once — from a reality villain to a sports show, and from that to theater and cinema — with each subsequent project using her scandalous reputation as a springboard, and not as a stigma. Broadway casting directors openly hoped that fans of DWTS and Mormon Wives would come to the theater out of curiosity — and the calculation was justified by box office records.

What viewers say

The reaction on social networks was almost unanimous — a rare case for a heroine who was attracting waves of criticism just a year ago. Reddit users wrote that her “career and personal growth should be studied at universities,” recalled how they buried her chances after leaving the show, and admitted that they were wrong. Some fans explicitly frame this as a redemption arc: the season's villain suddenly turns out to be the most employable member of the entire cast.

Sources:
people.com
variety.com
interviewmagazine.com

Xrust Ex-“villain” of reality became a Broadway and film star