Heavy/ABC Lele Pons and Brandon Armstrong.
Lele Pons asked fans a question one day before her surprise elimination from “Dancing With the Stars” – and it made some of them sad.
The YouTube star and actress was a front runner on the 32nd season of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, but she was sent home during the Music Video Night on November 7, 2023. Pons and her pro partner Brandon Armstong performed two high-scoring dances, but they were still sent home despite being the third highest-scoring couple of the night.
Hours before she performed an impressive salsa and perfect 10 team dance, Pons was looking ahead to an upcoming theme week devoted to Taylor Swift. On her X page, she shared a photo of Swift with the caption, “AHHH WHAT TAYLOR SWIFT SONG SHOULD I DANCE TO? #dwts #DWTSxTaylorSwift.”
Pons is a huge Taylor Swift fan. In August 2023, she posted an old video to TikTok with the caption, “Those who follow me since Vine know how much i love Taylor Swift and used her songs in my Vines.”
She also shared a recent video of her dancing in a fringed dress with the caption, “I have the best husband in the world…Not only does he give me tickets to go to the Taylor Swift concert as a gift, but also tickets for my friends.”
Fans Reacted to Lele Pons’ Post About the Upcoming DWTS Theme
Pons’ post about looking ahead to Taylor Swift Week sparked a big reaction on social media. In a Reddit thread, one fan reshared the post and wrote, “This breaks my heart.”
“This is so sad!” another Redditor agreed.”Brandon works so hard with his partners and gets so so close to doing so well with them and then get eliminated! I think Lele was amazing and should have gone to semi or finals she was awesome every week!!”
“This breaks my heart for you. You deserved this and everyone knows that. Hopefully you do too!” another fan wrote to Pons on X.
Some felt Pons shouldn’t have posted about a DWTS theme that’s two weeks away. “I hate that she left. But if I were a contestant, I really, really wouldn’t be posting like this in reference to something weeks in advance,” one commenter wrote.
A few other fans asked Pons what Taylor Swift song she would have liked to dance to, but she did not respond.
But the YouTube star, who boasts 53 million followers on Instagram alone, did post to X to reflect on her experience in the “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom. “SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS EXPERIENCE 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Unforgettable memories that will cherish forever❤️ #DWTS,” she wrote.
Taylor Swift Night Will Take Place on November 21. 2023
Over the years, “Dancing with the Stars” has paid tribute to a long list of stars via special theme nights. In 2021, the show had a Britney Spears theme night that included dances to songs such as “Baby One More Time,” “I’m a Slave 4 U”’ and “Oops I Did it Again.”
For season 32, the show will feature a tribute night in honor of Whitney Houston on November 14. And one week later, fans can look forward to “A Tribute to Taylor Swift” on November 21.
According to People, choreographer Mandy Moore will serve as a guest judge for the special theme night. Moore helped to choreograph the routines on Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour.
Swift has actually performed on “Dancing With the Stars” three times in the past. In 2009, she performed her songs “Jump Then Fall” and “Love Story” on the ABC dancing show. The following year she appeared again to perform her song “Mine” and then “White Horses,” and in 2012 she sang “We Are Never Getting Back Together” on Season 15 of the show, according to TV Guide.
Pro dancer Peta Murgatroyd spilled the news about “Dancing With the Stars'” Taylor Swift tribute before the official announcement was made. On October 3, 2023, she told Billboard, “We will be having a Taylor Swift week here,” before realizing he may have spoken out of turn. “Am I allowed to say that?” Murgatroyd asked.
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