If you watched Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (or maybe even Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team), then you understand the DCC hype. Fan favorites like Reece Weaver and Victoria Kalina won fans over with their flawless kick lines and performances of the iconic “Thunderstruck” dance. But following a Dallas Cowboys game on Dec. 9, a new cheerleader is now making headlines, and I’m so here for it.
Meet Armani Latimer, a 23-year-old DCC. For the Dallas Cowboys’ annual “My Cause My Boots” game, Latimer chose to support a cause especially close to her heart: alopecia awareness. According to an interview with Women’s Health, Latimer was diagnosed with alopecia at age 12. Though she started to experience hair loss at this time, it became even more prominent during her years in college. Shortly after joining the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading team, she lost all of her hair and began wearing wigs.
People had previously asked Latimer about performing at a game without her wig. She admitted that initially, she was unsure. “At first, I was a bit scared to commit to it because doing a photoshoot or taking a video of yourself and posting it on social media is not in real time,” she wrote before the performance, “Knowing that the game would be live in front of over 80 thousand people and I may end up on TV is a bit intimidating. But I’m reminding myself that I’ll be out there dancing with my best friends, and my family will be there as well. I know that it’ll be an impactful moment for whoever it touches.”
On Dec. 9. Latimer went wig-free on the field for the first time. In the now-viral video posted to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ TikTok and Instagram accounts, someone tells Latimer “You got this, Mani” as she tears up in her uniform before the game.
“So proud that you’re doing this and you’re representing a lot of little girls out there and they’re gonna be looking at you, in awe at your strength, knowing that they are going to feel so beautiful after this because of what you’re doing today. So we’re just so proud of you today” the voiceover continues. Latimer is then shown running onto the field, doing the iconic DCC strut with poms in hand, and performing the “Thunderstruck” dance (and might I add, looking beautiful in the process).
Latimer’s teammates were so supportive in the comments. “I will cry every time I watch this. Armani you are truly my idol in every single way” fellow DCC Charly Barby wrote. “It is truly one of the greatest honors to be your teammate,” Reece Weaver added. “THIS right here is why we dance. THIS is what DCC is all about” DCC Kleine Powell commented.
There’s no doubt that this was an iconic and impactful moment. This performance was not just about the dancing or the costumes. Rather, it was about sending a message to girls everywhere, one that encourages authenticity, self-love, and natural beauty.