‘Toxic’: Cowboys cheerleader goes rogue over $9 billion dispute

A cheerleader from the most iconic dancing group in the United States has come forward with disturbing accusations.

Disturbing new claims have been made surrounding the environment of America’s most famous dance group.

Controversy has surrounded the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders for decades amid recent scandals of inappropriate behaviour, harassment, sexism and gender inequality.

The issue of the peanuts American cheerleaders are paid right across the NFL has continually been swept under the rug.

Now new claims from inside the organisation have exposed how little has changed for the performers.

The issue has returned to headlines in recent weeks with the release of Netflix’s documentary America’s Sweethearts.

Netflix cameras were given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the dancing troop during the 2023-24 NFL season.

It proved to be a rollercoaster campaign on the field for the Cowboys, who saw their Super Bowl drought extended to 29 years.

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders perform. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

What was more shocking was the treatment the cheerleaders endured to keep their spot on the 36-woman squad.

A former Dallas cheerleader has now gone public with further claims about the way the group is managed as part of a wider “toxic” environment.

The cheerleaders, who spoke to Mail Online under the condition of anonymity, said she was paid as little as $22,000 per-year while on the team.

The team is valued at $9 billion and last season spent around $220 million in payments to players.

As part of a darker side of the industry, she said she suffered mental health and body image issues after joining the group and was eventually forced to leave with nothing to show for all the work she had done.

“I think you have a moment within your tenure as a DCC where you’re like, ‘This isn’t right. We should get paid more for what we’re doing, we’re barely making rent,’” the former cheerleader said.

“The Cowboys profit so much off of us that none of us see,’ she went on, noting that she never saw any revenue from three separate calendar shoots that required her to take 10 days off work.

The Dallas Cowboys Cherleaders are America's sweethearts. Photo: Netflix and Instagram.

“I barely managed [to get by]. I worked two other jobs all three years that I was at DCC.’

Comments made by Charlotte Jones, daughter of billionaire team owner Jerry Jones, have also sparked outcry since the release of the doco.

“There’s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders — as it should be. They’re not paid a lot,” she said.

“But the facts are, they actually don’t come here for the money. They come here for something that’s actually bigger than that to them.

“They have a passion for dance. There are not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance to get to perform at an elite level. It is about being a part of something bigger than themselves.

“It is about a sisterhood that they are able to form, about relationships that they have for the rest of their life. They have a chance to feel like they are valued, they are special, and they are making a difference.

“When the women come here, they find their passion and they find their purpose.”

The rogue cheerleade has responded to Jones by saying: “It’s very insulting to see someone in such a high position talk about the fact we’re in it for something bigger than ourselves.

“We love the job of being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. However, I believe if you want elite dancers, you have to give elite compensation.

“We’re all athletes, we’re all incredible performers … the problem is that they will have women lining up every single year willing to do it for less.”

America’s Sweethearts chronicles the lives of cheerleaders past and present on the squad, including rookies, veterans, and retired dancers, The Sun reports.

The iconic uniform has divided fans for years. Clive Mason/Getty Images/AFP.

Jinelle Davidson performing with Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

“There are certain people that you feel compelled to focus on,” director Greg Whiteley explained, via Netflix.

“You have to trust that instinct and be open to wherever their story is going to go.

“We were fully prepared to just keep filming with somebody that didn’t make the team.”

Hundreds of dancers apply for a role in the squad each year, with the show following several rookies on their cheerleading journey.

One is Charly Barby, a trained ballet dancer who graduated from Arizona State shortly before filming began.

While Bollywood dancer Anisha Kay - an orthodontist in the real world - turned heads with a stunning audition tape.’

“If I know I have five minutes between patients, I try to run one or two full routines. It’s tough, but worth it,” Anisha said.

Rookie Kelly Villares is another rookie hopeful and claims she has dreamed of becoming a Dallas cheerleader her “whole life.”

A scene from the hit doco. Photo: Netflix.

“I just didn’t think it was in the cards for me, considering I live in New Jersey,” Kelly revealed.

“I want to make my parents proud, because they know how bad I want it, and they’ve sacrificed so much.

“I just want to show them what I did, [and say] you didn’t sacrifice all this for nothing.”

The show also follows a number of DCC veterans, looking into what it means to become a cheerleader in the modern-day NFL.

Fifth-year dancer Kelcey Wetterberg balances the role with her high-pressure full-time job as a pediatric nurse.

“You learn to expedite your meals when you’re busy like me 18 hours a day. DCC is more of a part-time job,” she told Netflix.

“A lot of us work full-time jobs and come to DCC at night, so it can be really exhausting.

“But there are moments here that are so special, I’ll cherish them for the rest of my life.”

Fourth-year dancer Victoria Kalina has family ties with the organisation, with her mum Tina a Dallas cheerleader during the 1980s.

“I get some comments saying y’all are too close, that’s unhealthy,” Victoria says of her relationship with her mom.

“But I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s my rock, my person, my biggest supporter ever.”

Elsewhere on the team, there is another family connection, with rookie Anna Kate Sundvold replacing her sister Caroline after she retired due to injury.

“We’ve had a few arguments, but for the most part it was a blessing for me that as I was leaving DCC she was coming in,” Caroline explained.

“It sort of lightened the blow a bit, so I didn’t feel so isolated from everything I’d been around for the last five years.”

“The kind of access and creative freedom we need to make the kind of work we want to make is not easy to come by - especially when dealing with a brand as large as the Dallas Cowboys,” Whiteley continued ahead of the show’s premiere on June 20.

“To their infinite credit, the Cowboys offered unfettered access for the year we filmed the DCC and left us alone.

“The result is an authentic portrait of one of the most storied and beloved institutions we have in American pop culture.”

Originally published as ‘Toxic’: Cowboys cheerleader goes rogue over $9 billion dispute