Adam Rippon has added “Brightest Star in the Galaxy” to go with his Dancing with the Stars champion and Olympic medalist titles.
The 33-year-old American figure skater won his second reality TV show, Stars on Mars, besting 15 other celebrities in the competition.
Contestants featured comedians, actors, reality TV stars, and athletes, including Ronda Rousey, Tom Schwartz, Natasha Leggero, Ariel Winter, Paul Pierce, and Marshawn Lynch.
To claim the Stars on Mars championship, Rippon was able to assemble a satellite tower the quickest on a simulated planet Mars and broadcast a personalized message.
The Olympian and DWTS winner competed in the finale against singer Tinashe after they successfully advanced past a round of trivia questions.
William Shatner, known for his legendary role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, hosted the FOX show and presented Rippon with a trophy upon his win.
Adam Rippon claims Stars on Mars win, sends personalized message to Earth
After successfully assembling his satellite tower before Tinashe, Rippon inserted his personalized message and played it from the simulated Mars. The broadcast was shown during the episode on large screens in several cities. They included Times Square in New York City, St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, and Sydney Harbor in Australia.
“From Mars, this is Adam Rippon. When I began my journey here on the red planet, I had no idea what to expect,” he said, adding, “I quickly learned that being hot doesn’t make you a great astronaut, which feels like it should a little bit.”
Rippon said in his personalized message that “life is all about the journey and the connections you make” and encouraged the people of Earth to let those closest to them “know how much they mean to you as often as possible.”
Once the message had been broadcast, host Shatner walked over to shake hands with the celebronaut winner and handed him a small trophy in recognition of the win.
In the season premiere, Rippon was among the bottom three competitors. However, he pleaded his case, saying, “I’m one of the hottest people here.” With that, he remained in the game and persisted through the season.
Rippon and Tinashe advanced past NBA star Paul Pierce, Iron Chef’s Cat Cora, and Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Porsha Williams to get to the finale. Rippon then completed their final task ahead of Tinashe.
In her confessional interview, the show’s runner-up said she was happy to see Rippon win the competition as he had “so much growth” throughout the season.
Rippon said he wanted Tinashe to win the show
Based on comments to Entertainment Weekly, Rippon confessed that he wanted the runner-up to win and even offered to wait until she’d finished the task first.
“We had been out there for so long. We’re sweating, and William Shatner is covered in flies, and she’s like, ‘Let’s just go. Come on, Adam, go!’ and I’m like, fine…. So I kind of win a little bit against my own will, but I had it with Tinashe’s blessing,” Rippon told EW.
The Stars on Mars winner said he has the prized trophy on display in his home office because “if William Shatner gives you something, you display it.”
Rippon likely has several other prized possessions on display with that. In addition to claiming the FOX reality TV show’s trophy, he won the mirrorball trophy for Season 26 of Dancing with the Stars and a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Dancing with the Stars Season 32 premieres in Fall 2023 on ABC and Disney+.