Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders alum Reece Weaver reflected on the team’s notoriously fickle fans on social media after announcing her retirement from the squad.
“As a whole, it really does affect our team,” Weaver, 24, exclusively told Us Weekly. “Our hope is that once people watch the show they really do get to see that their words are really heavy and hold weight. We actually do see the comments. I think a lot of people think that we never see the comments. But it’s all over our For You page. That’s how social media works.”
She added, “I do think it played a role in the pressures that we experience on the day-to-day. But if anything, it has made us so strong and super close with each other.”
Weaver’s retirement after three years on the team was revealed at the end of season 3 of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which premiered on June 16.
The new season explores the team’s contentious relationship with social media, particularly the cheerleaders’ popular Reddit fan page.
“After these past three years, this was the first time I actually established and realized what true boundaries are,” Weaver said. “I really set a lot of boundaries for myself. I say that I’m actually almost two years sober from Reddit. I have not gone on Reddit a lot.”
Still, Weaver admitted avoiding the noise is “a lot easier said than done.”
“Even the Reddit pages on that platform, they’re making accounts and going to our Instagrams, TikToks and other social media platforms,” she explained. “When I do see negative comments, I’m one to just delete it. That way it’s not seen on my page — my eyes don’t see it — and for others so that they don’t get into it. I don’t necessarily want other people to backlash and get into arguments. I don’t need that. I don’t need anyone else to need that, either.”
Weaver added, “If I feel ready to get back to comments and be a little bit more active on social media, then I’ll take that. But if I don’t feel ready wholeheartedly, even the slightest bit, then I’m not going on social media at all.:”
The dark side of social media even left a pit in Weaver’s stomach when news of her retirement was revealed.
“Season 3 talks a lot about the feedback that we get, a little bit more on the negative side of things. So you know that’s kind of expected and anticipated, unfortunately,” she said. “I think the nerves came through like, ‘Are people going to be supportive of this decision or not?’ But I’m also relieved that it’s off my chest and that everyone will know.”
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is available to stream now.
