'There was one Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders scene that made my jaw drop, but I don’t know why I was surprised.'

There were a lot of moments in Season 2 of America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders that left me infuriated.

When Dayton Bramhall made it through the first round of auditions despite clearly being a nepotism pick based on her mother Shelly's legacy with DCC.

When the women's bodies were measured for their DCC costumes, as Director Kelli Finglass and Choreographer Judy Trammell made comments about how a 'tiny torso and tiny shoulders always look good'.

But above all, it was when the Netflix series depicted discussions about the DCC women asking for a living wage that made me want to turn off my TV.

In the end, the women got a 400 per cent pay rise, but this wouldn't have come to fruition without the persistence of a handful of veterans like Jada McLean, Megan McElaney, Armani Latimer and Amanda Howard.

Watch the trailer for the latest season. Post continues below.

In particular, it was one conversation involving Amanda that left me with a sour taste in my mouth. That woman was done dirty.

"I do hope that one day we can get the cheerleaders paid more," an emotional Amanda said to Judy and Kelli during a tense meeting.

"We work extremely hard and I think all of these girls would quit their full-time jobs in order to be Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders."

Makes sense, right? After all, throughout the two seasons of America's Sweethearts, the women have spoken about having to work up to four jobs just to make ends meet.

But it was Judy's response that was one of the most baffling things I've heard, but I guess it wasn't entirely unsurprising.

"Why do we want people to quit their full-time jobs, when that's what's so impressive about ya'll?" she asked.

Okay, Judy. Wait a goddamn minute.

Judy, what’s so impressive about DCC is NOT that they work 9-5 jobs. Are you serious? How can you simultaneously push for perfection & undercut the fact that DCC IS already a full time job?

#AmericasSweethearts #DCCheerleaders pic.twitter.com/op4dH0vbQB

— cowboy fluorescent beige. (@misshunay) June 19, 2025

I'm willing to bet Judy didn't work a fulltime job 40+ years ago to just survive and make her rent payment. The DCC girls are working several jobs and still facing eviction, on top of cheerleading. Smh. #AmericasSweethearts #dcc

— Sanna (@sansofvei) June 22, 2025

These 36 women have trained as dancers since they were children, putting in thousands of hours of jazz, hip-hop and ballet training and ensuring they remain at their peak level of fitness.

They then likely competed professionally in dance throughout high school and college, along with competing in cheerleading teams. All while continuing to hone their skills and reach their personal (and professional) best.

Then, after a lifetime of training, they had to prepare their bodies to audition for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, arguably one of the most competitive teams to get into in the entire world.

They beat hundreds of girls and proved themselves worthy enough to be one out of 36 women plucked from every corner of the planet. From here, they were back doing nightly rehearsals to perform in front of thousands of people in the centre of packed stadiums.

But let me get this straight: it is much more 'impressive' that they're also an orthodontist? Or a nurse? Or work as a florist?

And it's super 'impressive' these women have to do this because their salary from DCC won't pay their rent or buy their weekly groceries?

'Are y'all for real?' Image: Netflix.

"We get hair services and spray tans but at the end of the day, that doesn't pay my rent and I have student loans, I've got car payments," one of the veterans, Megan, reflected during the team's pay negotiations.

These kinds of conversations around what makes a woman 'impressive' only illustrate that women are still held to an impossible standard — even by the same women who have stood in their exact same shoes.

And the men playing NFL in these games that the women perform half-time shows for? They don't have to work second jobs to be considered worthy of praise.

In the case of being a DCC dancer, not only are they expected to perform at their best, they have to work multiple jobs, attend charity fundraisers, lead cheer camps, perform at other DCC gigs, and any social media endorsements have to be vetted in line with DCC's conservative guidelines.

"We put ourselves under so much stress and our families under so much stress," Amanda told Judy in the same meeting. "If we could commit 100% to this…" she started, before Judy cut her off to say, "We've been in the same boat."

Hmmm. You wouldn't think so based on your reaction.

These women finally getting a pay increase is something to celebrate, but it's worth remembering that with someone like Judy in a position of power, the DCC could be fighting a losing battle when it comes to being treated equally to the men they champion.

Feature image: Netflix.