The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are turning on fan-favourite Victoria.

Victoria Kalina became an early fan-favourite on America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

She was one of the central characters in the Netflix docuseries, with a seemingly unbreakable smile and bubbly desire to be the best DCC cheerleader she could possibly be. But it was never enough. 

Her struggles with disordered eating, depression, and loneliness were showcased in key scenes. Fans around the world were left heartbroken when she spoke about feeling left out or talked about how the team's strict uniform standards had impacted her health. 

In particular, it was tough to watch the scene where she celebrated her 24th birthday alone. Her mother, Tina, was there, but her friends were noticeably absent.

Victoria said her DCC teammates were invited, but skipped the pink party. The poignant moment highlighted that, for some, the sisterhood of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Victoria celebrated her birthday with her mother. Image: Netflix.

This was made clear when Victoria chose to retire from the DCC at the end of the season, after being told she likely wouldn't receive a senior position in her veteran year.

"I was fully ready to step into season five for my veteran year," she told Glamour UK. "I had my audition song ready to go. I had my trip planned for choreography. I had everything set and ready. I had my costume designed. It was all on track. That conversation [with Kelli and Judy], it just hit me like a bullet I wasn't expecting. I feel like I got blindsided by that conversation, honestly.

"I took the weekend to process... You never want to react to something too soon. So I just sat with it, really thought about pros and cons, and then that's when I came back to telling the camera I wasn't going to return."

She's since moved on - literally, she packed a bag and booked a flight to New York - but her struggles on the team remain a talking point. 

Since the show premiered in June, there’s been negative attention directed towards the rest of the DCC for making Victoria feel left out. Now, they're hitting back. 

In typical happy, shiny, and bright cheerleader fashion they're not being particularly harsh - but they are making it clear they have different opinions about how the birthday party scene went down. 

Victoria has since retired from the DCC and moved to New York. Image: Getty.

In a viral TikTok video to promote the Be There In 5 podcast, Victoria said she invited everyone to her party after Netflix asked if they could film and celebrate her birthday as part of the docuseries.

"I word-of-mouth [invited people] and vocalised, 'Hey, Netflix is coming. There’s gonna be cake, the more the merrier.' But, I guess it just didn’t trickle along," she said. 

Podcast host Kate Kennedy asked if she was saddened by that. Victoria doubled down saying, "No, because everything that I said I always felt like it got brushed aside and not fully acknowledged."

Yikes. 

In the comments of the post, some Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders shared their own takes on what went down with Victoria.

"It breaks my heart that it has come to this," DCC veteran Zhenya Kolpakova wrote. “I hope you know that we support you, love you, and would never have just not shown up to your birthday. I would have LOVED to be there to celebrate with you."

"We take Bdays very seriously around here and would have been there if we had known!" wrote First Group Leader Kelcey Wetterberg. "We decorated her locker per DCC tradition, but we wish we could have been given the opportunity to be at her party."

Kelcey Wetterberg (front centre position) says she didn't know about Victoria's party. Image: Netflix.

"Would have loved to have been there to celebrate Victoria had I been given the opportunity: wrote Jessica Bowman. “Praying she comes to realise how much the team really did support her."

"If invited, myself and others would have shown up. My teammates are the sweetest people and want to make every single girl feel loved, especially on their birthday," Darian Lassiter posted, 

And, finally, McKenzie Sherman wrote, "I would have been there as well! One of my favorite things about DCC is that we know how to show up for each other. For Victoria, it’s no different, we would have absolutely rallied around her." 

It's clear there was a miscommunication, with several cheerleaders saying they hadn't heard about the party. Whether or not they've since reached out to Victoria is unknown, but at the time of the podcast recording, she said she hadn't heard from any teammates since the show premiered. 

Listen to No Filter's deep dive into the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, featuring expert Sarah Hepola.

Feature Image: Instagram