DCC Hopeful Dayton Addresses Cut After Her Mom's Emotional Reaction
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders star Dayton Bramhall is proud of her audition - even if she didn't make the squad.
"At least I can say I gave it my all ⭐️🎬," Dayton, 28, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, June 17, sharing a photo from her solo audition featured in the Netflix docuseries.
Dayton, whose mom Shelly Bramhall is an associate choreographer for the team after a previous stint as a dancer in the 1980s, has tried out for the DCC multiple times. Most recently, Dayton tried out for the 2025-2026 team last year, as seen on season 3 of America's Sweethearts.
Dayton, however, failed to make it to training camp in the newest batch of episodes.
"I'm not OK. She did everything they asked her to do," Shelly, 57, tearfully said in a confessional during season 3, which is currently streaming on Netflix. "You take strangers that you don't know and you can't even give someone you held in the hospital a chance."
The DCC roster is selected by director Kelli Finglass, choreographer Judy Trammel and a rotating panel of judges, including Cowboys executive Charlotte Jones. Kelli, 61, and Judy, 68, were each vocal about the "complicated" decision to cut Dayton considering their longstanding friendship with Shelly.
"The judges were consistent. I can sleep at night because I know we gave her every opportunity and she did herself, too. She's worked hard," Kelli stated at the time. "It's just sad that it didn't work out. Dayton is a beautiful girl and she's a beautiful dancer. The power and the ability to captivate and excite and ignite the space in which she's dancing, I don't think that's her style of dance."
As for Judy, she merely didn't want to cut Dayton during training camp.
"I would not have wanted Dayton to have had to go through another training camp and be cut again," Judy noted on the show. "Letting her go at finals was probably the best thing for her. She's just stressed over this so much and I hate that for her that we couldn't make her dream come true. We couldn't help her fulfill it."
Dayton previously made it to the training camp phase of auditions during season 2 of America's Sweethearts.
"She tried hard and it was a competitive year and she wasn't in the top 36, so we had to make that decision. It's not easy to share that message," Kelli exclusively told Us Weeklyin June 2025. "She made it to training camp and we would only hope for the best for her. Training camp is where she started getting a little overwhelmed, but she made it to training camp fair and square on her own. So I'm proud of her for that."
The DCC is currently in training camp to select its 2026-2027 squad, though it's not known whether Dayton tried out again.
America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is now streaming on Netflix.
Copyright 2026 Us Weekly. All rights reserved
This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 7:33 AM.