“The Traitors” Star Monét X Change Says Her Skin Started ‘Shedding’ at “DWTS” While Supporting Maura Higgins: ‘I Looked Like a Lizard’

Deirdre DurkanThu, October 1, 2026 at 3:50 PM UTC

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Monét X Change on May 30, 2026 (left); Maura Higgins on “Dancing with the Stars’ (right)Credit: Griffin Nagel/BRAVO via Getty; Disney/Eric McCandless -

Monét X Change said a recent chemical peel became noticeably visible while she watched Dancing with the Stars

She attended to support Maura Higgins, her former Traitors costar and friend

Higgins and partner Mark Ballas earned 22 out of 30 during Yacht Rock Night

Monét X Change had an unexpected beauty mishap while cheering on her friend Maura Higgins at Dancing with the Stars.

The RuPaul’s Drag Race alum revealed on her Sibling Rivalry podcast with Bob the Drag Queen that her skin began dramatically peeling while she sat in the audience of the ABC competition series on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Monét had gone to the ballroom to support Higgins, her former The Traitors season 4 costar, when she realized a recent chemical peel was taking effect much faster, and more noticeably, than she anticipated.

According to Monét, she underwent the chemical peel shortly after having hair transplant surgery and was told by a nurse that the peeling would likely begin around Tuesday or Wednesday.

Monet X Change and Maura Higgins on January 8, 2026Credit: Griffin Nagel/Peacock via Getty

“The nurse was like, ‘It’ll probably start peeling by Tuesday or Wednesday, and you’ll be good by Friday,’” she recalled.

The timing initially didn’t concern Monét, who had already promised Higgins that she would come support her during the early weeks of her DWTS run.

On Tuesday morning, however, Monét noticed “a little something” beginning to happen with her skin while at the gym. The peeling became more noticeable later in the day while she was recording an episode of Sibling Rivalry, prompting her to send the nurse a photo.

“I texted [the nurse] and sent a picture. She was like, ‘By later, it will be that same level, you’ll be fine,’” Monét recalled.

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With that reassurance, she headed to the Dancing with the Stars ballroom as planned. But while sitting in the audience and enjoying the show, Monét realized the situation had escalated.

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“Bitch, last night at Dancing with the Stars, I’m sitting in the audience, no mask, kiki having a good time, and I look down, and I see a little chunk of skin on [me],” she said.

Monét headed to the bathroom to assess the situation and discovered just how much her skin had begun peeling.

“I was talking to people and my face was shedding,” she recalled, joking that she “looked like a lizard” when she saw herself in the mirror.

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas on ‘Dancing with the Stars’Credit: Disney/Eric McCandless

“I looked like my face was just shedding skin. I probably looked crazy talking to people,” she added as she and Bob laughed about the incident.

The mishap didn’t stop Monét from showing up for Higgins, with whom she formed a friendship while competing on season 4 of Peacock’s The Traitors earlier this year.

Higgins has another Traitors connection by her side in the ballroom: her professional partner, Mark Ballas, also competed alongside her on the Peacock reality series.

The pair got off to an impressive start during the two-night DWTS season 35 premiere, earning a 21 out of 30 for their foxtrot and tying Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson at the top of the leaderboard.

Their momentum has continued. On the Sept. 29 “Yacht Rock Night,” Higgins and Ballas performed a quickstep and earned 22 out of 30, putting them behind only Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov and Shum and Johnson, who each received 24 points.

Dancing with the Stars airs live on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”