ABC
Fans of “Dancing With the Stars” are upset by the elimination that took place on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, during the “Prom Night” episode.
SPOILER WARNING: spoilers for “Dancing With the Stars” season 31, episode 6 “Stars’ Stories Week: Prom Night” are below. Do not read on if you do not want the episode spoiled.
After the dance marathon for extra points was won by Jessie James Decker, she and her partner, Alan Bersten, moved up multiple spots on the leaderboard. Fans on the Reddit live thread were quick to call it “rigged.” Before the marathon, Decker was at the bottom of the leaderboard for the night.
Ultimately, the bottom two couples were Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev, and Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach. The couple sent home at the end of the night was Baena and Karagach, leaving many fans upset.
Many Fans Are Annoyed About the Elimination
What a crazy and unforgettable journey this was. I’m so grateful to all of you for your constant support and kindness. Thank you all so much for voting every Monday and thank you for your beautiful messages. Please know I see you and appreciate you all so so much. Love, Dani.
Fans of the show took to Reddit to share their thoughts about the elimination. Many thought the dance marathon ultimately pushed the combination of scores and votes in one direction.
“What an awful end to a great week. JJD won prom queen and most likely was saved due to a rigged marathon, Heidi and Joseph in the bottom two. Both didn’t deserve to be there AND Joseph left. SAD,” wrote one person.
“This is BS. It was supposed to be JJD in the bottom,” another commenter wrote.
Another commented, “Joseph did NOT deserve to go out that early oh my god.”
The elimination came just one night after Carrie Ann Inaba told Baena that he’d danced the “best Rumba” she’d ever seen from a male contestant on the show.
Some fans called the elimination “depressing,” and many said they would miss seeing Baena and Karagach in the ballroom.
“Joseph deserved better,” one person wrote.
Twitter was also rife with commenters feeling the show was “rigged.”
“Y’all shouldn’t have went home this week. America got it wrong,” one person wrote in response to a message from Karagach.
“That marathon dance was rigged which resulted in an unfair elimination…,” another tweeted.
Another Twitter commenter wrote, “People have been saying for years that #DWTS is rigged, and this episode really showed that it is true.”
“Disappointed in judges obvious manipulations. Crazy obvious,” another wrote.
Heavy reached out to a rep for “Dancing With the Stars” for more information about the voting process and its legitimacy and has not received a response.
What Dances Took Place on the ‘Prom Night’ Episode of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ & What Were the Scores?
There were performances from the 11 remaining couples on prom night.
Stars’ Stories Week: Prom Night
- Charli D’Amelio and pro Mark Ballas performed a Jive to “You Make My Dreams” by Daryl Hall & John Oates (Score: 38 out of 40)
- Heidi D’Amelio and pro Artem Chigvintsev performed a Jazz routine to “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper (Score: 33 out of 40)
- Jessie James Decker and pro Alan Bersten performed a Viennese Waltz to “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson (Score: 32 out of 40)
- Daniel Durant and pro Britt Stewart performed a Cha Cha to “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland (Score: 32 out of 40)
- Vinny Guadagnino and pro Koko Iwasaki performed a Viennese Waltz to “You and Me” by Lifehouse (Score: 28 out of 40)
- Shangela and pro Gleb Savchenko performed a Cha Cha to “Waiting For Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez (Score: 35 out of 40)
- Gabby Windey and pro Val Chmerkovskiy performed a Tango to “Good Girls Go Bad” by Cobra Starship ft. Leighton Meester (Score: 40 out of 40)
- Jordin Sparks and pro Brandon Armstrong performed a Contemporary to “No Air” by Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown (Score: 35 out of 40)
- Trevor Donovan and pro Emma Slater performed a Jive to “Basket Case” by Green Day (Score: 32 out of 40)
- Joseph Baena and pro Daniella Karagach performed a Cha Cha to “Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON (Score: 32 out of 40)
- Wayne Brady and pro Witney Carson performed a Samba to “It Takes Two” by Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
During the Dance Marathon couples performed a Hustle to “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer and a Lindy Hop to “Jump Jive An’ Wail” by The Brian Setzer Orchestra.