Dancing With the Stars’ 2017 season is already coming down to the wire, with the margin of error narrowing with each passing week on ABC.
Heather Morris, Simone Biles and Rashad Jennings, Normani Kordei, David Ross, Bonner Bolton and Nancy Kerrigan have all hung tough.
Oh, and Nick Viall is still on the show.
Whose luck would finally run out Monday night, as the top eight dancers competed under the ever-changing format for a spot next week?
Incredibly, it was a dancer NO ONE saw coming.
On Monday night’s Boy Bands vs. Girls Groups-themed episode, the remaining contestants took the stage fighting for survival as always.
A bizarre format change and a dubious voting system ended up doing in one of the best dancers, though. Let’s break down the scores:
Simone Biles with Sasha Farber – Samba – “Survivor” by Destiny’s Childo
Score: 35/40
Bonner Bolton with Sharna Burgess – Rumba – “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys
Score: 30/40
Nancy Kerrigan with Artem Chigvintsev – Paso Doblé – “Free Your Mind” by En Vogue
Score: 33/40
Nick Viall with Peta Murgatroyd – Jive – “Fun, Fun, Fun” by The Beach Boys
Score: 28/40
Normani Kordei with Valentin Chmerkovskiy – Salsa – “When I Grow Up” by The Pussycat Dolls
Score: 38/40
David Ross with Lindsay Arnold – Argentine Tango – “I Want You Back” by *NSYNC
Score: 29/40
Rashad Jennings with Emma Slater – Tango – “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” by The Four Tops
Score: 37/40
Heather Morris with Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Rumba – “Waterfalls” by TLC
Score 40/40!
That’s right, the first perfect score of the season! But before team dances … it was announced which “team” would be safe next week.
One would think that because David, Nick and Bonner are all on the male team, then obviously, based on talent, they’d be in jeopardy.
One would be wrong, though.
The women, a group that includes Heather, Normani, Simone and Nancy, were in danger of elimination regardless of how they performed.
Those four went on to outscore the men, 34-33, in their respective team dances, but again, it doesn’t matter at all, which is so ridiculous.
So which one got eliminated? Remarkably, it came down to Nancy and Heather for elimination, and even more remarkable than that?
Heather Morris is OUT!
That’s right. After Morris hit the dance floor with returning pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the first time since week one, she’s done.
After he choreographed a rumba for the duo to the tunes of TLC’s “Waterfalls” that was lauded by audiences and judges alike, she’s done.
After she earned a score that was literally perfect, which no other dancer had done this week or this entire season, she’s done.
“Well, you hear the reaction. I’m shocked, audience not happy, how are you?” Erin Andrews asked Morris over the loud boos of wrath.
“I’m okay,” Morris said.
“It’s a hard competition and I’m really happy that I got to do exactly what I got to do. It was very, very fun,” she said, high road taken.
“I have to say, in 24 seasons, that was probably the most vocally unhappy reaction we’ve gotten about a result,” Tom Bergeron said.
That’s saying something, as there have been more than a few Dancing With the Stars results shockers over that span. But he’s not wrong.
Maks, like his partner, added, “I’m good, I’m good. I put in a lot of work to try and come back and give her the chance. I’m not saying anything.”
Added Morris, whom he called an inspiration: “I really really want to say thank you to both of them because they were magical. It was fantastic.”
What a joke.
Ironically, some people were saying Dancing With the Stars is rigged FOR Morris because the actress she used to he a dancer by trade.
Instead, a truly absurd and unfair voting system and arbitrary decision to keep the men safe (?!) combined to doom Heather last night.
It’s time for the show to rethink things. Yes, it’s a popularity contest, and the best dancers don’t always win, but this makes literally no sense.