A high-stakes double elimination shook the ballroom Tuesday as ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” cut two couples following its Season 35 “Horror Movie Night.”
The departures came after scores and viewer votes from Week 6’s “Dedication Night” carried over to combine with Tuesday’s spooky routines. Tyler Cameron, known from “The Bachelorette,” and his professional dance partner, Sharna Burgess, were eliminated, Yahoo and Page Six reported. Joining them in exiting the competition was Savannah Bananas baseball player Jackson Olson and professional dancer Emma Slater, according to both outlets. A conflicting report from Just Jared indicated that comedian Connor Wood was eliminated alongside Cameron instead of Olson.
Reactions to the double exit
Cameron and Burgess danced a Viennese waltz set to Annie Lennox’s “Love Song for a Vampire” from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” earning a 26 out of 40 from the panel. The score brought their two-week total to 58 out of 80, Page Six reported. Speaking after the results, Cameron reflected on his run with Burgess, telling the broadcast, as quoted by Yahoo, “You saw me upset up there, I was disappointed with myself because I feel like I let her down because she’s given me so much.” He added, “I have a special woman in my life now, I’m very lucky.”
Olson and Slater performed a contemporary routine inspired by the film “Joker,” set to Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life.” The routine earned 35 out of 40 points on Tuesday and brought their two-night total to 67 out of 80. TVLine called Olson’s dance the pinnacle of his progression on the program despite some unstable lifts. Olson celebrated his time on the show, saying, according to Yahoo, “I wanted to be on this since last year and I made a bunch of videos about it and I got on it and I got the most amazing partner, Emma, so this journey’s been amazing.”
First perfect score of Season 35
While two pairs saw their journey end, “Glee” alumnus Harry Shum Jr. and partner Jenna Johnson dominated the leaderboard by earning the season’s first perfect score of 40 out of 40, according to Page Six. The duo performed a contemporary piece set to a cover of Britney Spears’ hit “Toxic” inspired by the “Saw” horror franchise. Bruno Tonioli hailed the performance as “perfection,” while guest judge Shirley Ballas noted she had never witnessed anything quite like it.
Ballas, the head judge on the British counterpart “Strictly Come Dancing” and the mother of professional dancer Mark Ballas, served as a guest judge alongside regular panelists Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Tonioli. Shirley Ballas gave her son and his celebrity partner, Maura Higgins, a score of seven, contributing to a 32 for their routine to “Cry Little Sister,” Yahoo reported.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy returned from his one-week suspension to post a 37 for an Argentine tango, tying them with Wood and partner Rylee Arnold on the night. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov also remained near the top with 36 points for their “Black Swan”-themed Argentine tango.
What comes next for the ballroom
Only eight couples now remain in contention for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, Page Six noted. With the field shrinking, viewers will see a brief shift in the broadcast schedule.
Due to news coverage of Election Day on Tuesday, “Dancing With the Stars” will move its next live broadcast to Monday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC and Disney+, Yahoo reported. The upcoming episode will feature the annual “Disney Night” theme, with “Wicked” actor Cynthia Erivo slated to join the judges’ panel as a guest judge.
