After possible cast changes, delays and setbacks caused by the (now ended) Writers’ Guild of America strike, “Dancing with the Stars” is, against all odds, back on the air. Was all the drama worth it? The fans say no, calling the first elimination unfair, cruel and even a little suspicious.
This season’s stars include singer Jason Mraz, Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix, current The Bachelorette lead Charity Lawson and Britney’s infamous sister Jamie Lynn Spears. But heading into the premiere, all eyes were on Veep star Matt Walsh after he decided to leave the show amid ongoing WGA negotiations. After the WGA confirmed a tentative deal, Walsh re-entered the show.
The Emmy-nominated actor was paired with dancer Koko Iwasaki. During their first dance, the duo attempted to dazzle the judges with a cha-cha-cha to “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe. The routine was undoubtedly a little cheesy: Walsh took the stage in an animal control costume and attempted to “tame” Iwasaki, who was slithering across the stage like a snake.
The judges were not impressed. Carrie Ann Inaba gave a backhanded compliment, saying that the dance “reminded me of old-school Dancing with the Stars, where we had people who weren’t the best dancers, but they gave us a good time!” Ouch. The pair ran away with one of the worst results of the evening, 4-4-4.
Walsh and Iwasaki landed in the bottom two spots along with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Mauricio Umansky and his partner Emma Slater. Ultimately the ax struck Walsh and Iwasaki.
Fans were incredibly unhappy with this result. For starters, Dancing with the Stars doesn’t typically eliminate a couple on the first night. The show used to have a first dance, which then gave the few people at the bottom the chance to save themselves in another round. But now the series is starting to become a star straight away.
This change, which occurred last season when DWTS debuted on Disney+, enraged fans. Walsh and Iwasaki could have had a bad night! You deserve another chance.
Other DWTS fans said that Walsh’s elimination was downright suspicious considering he was the most outspoken about the WGA attacks. Did the show decide to eliminate him for this reason? We’ll never know, but the audience is convinced that something “suspicious” happened behind the scenes at the dance competition.
At least Walsh got the only thing he wanted: to be on the show so his mother could watch.
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