'DWTS' Semi-Finals Recap: Will Disney Star Chelsea Kane Be Able To Beat Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward?

The ‘Dancing with the Stars’ semi-finals May 16 were more action packed than anything we’ve seen this whole season: there were injuries and frustrations galore, perfect scores and some naughty language!

For a show that has become largely predictable, Dancing with the Stars was quite exciting May 16. It was the semi-finals and we weren’t sure whether we should focus our attention on Bruno Tonioli‘s “pussy” reference (if you watched on the West Coast, it got bleeped), Hines Ward‘s flawless performances or Kym Johnson‘s nearly paralyzing neck injury!

The tough competition has worn on even the most resilient contestants and they started to crack. Kirstie Alley freaked out on Maksim Chmerkovskiy, making us nervous for her ability to get votes; meanwhile, Mark Ballas virtually stopped working when he decided his partner, Chelsea Kane, was “dead weight.”

Then there was judge Bruno Tanioli commenting on Karina Smirnoff‘s sexuality in a VERY odd way. “You were too rough with your pussy, darling,” the outspoken judge said, earning boos from the live studio audience. In fact, audiences were so offended by his remark, ABC bleeped the p-word for the West Coast play back. Oh, the drama!

All bickering and insults aside, the most touching moments of the night belonged to Hines Ward and his partner, Kym. While they were rehearsing a trick for their first dance, Hines accidentally dropped Kym on her head, and she had to be taken to the hospital in the ambulance. They showed the footage of her fall and we couldn’t believe how painful it look when her neck crunched under the weight of her body. Poor Hines looked like he was ready to jump off a cliff — he felt so guilty.

Judging from the fall, we doubted Kym would be able to move, but she proved us wrong. On both numbers, Hines and Kym earned perfect scores — the first time that’s happened this season! We also fell in love with Hines’s mom, who moved him from South Korea when she realized he was never going to be accepted as a “mix race” child. Our hearts broke and then swelled with pride as we watched Hines excel at football, eventually becoming the MVP for the Super Bowl.

ABC also threw a curve ball at the end of the show, introducing “The Winner Takes All Cha-Cha,” in which the top contenders danced against one another for the chance to win 15 bonus points. The judges had all the power to declare a winner — and it was pretty obvious to us they chose Chelsea and Mark to give them a shot at the finals. Disney starlet Chelsea is the only contestant who doesn’t already have a large fan base and is the only one truly at risk of being eliminated too early based on popularity alone.

Regardless of the producers’ motives (or if we’ll ever see the “The Winner Takes All Cha-Cha” again), we enjoyed watching the contestants put dances together in less than five minutes. It was incredibly entertaining.

At the end of the night, the scores were as follows:

Kirstie & Maks: 54/60
Chelsea & Mark : 58/60 + 15 bonus
Ralph & Karina: 48/60
Hines & Kym: 60/60

Do YOU think tonight was Ralph’s swan song, or will someone else be going home? Sound off below!

Kirstin Benson

Read more about Dancing with the Stars:

1. Petra Nemcova Gets The Boot From ‘DWTS’ & We Can’t Believe Who Else Was On The Chopping Block!
2. Kirstie Alley Turns The Table (Literally) & DJs At Club After ‘DWTS!’ Exclusive Pics!
3. Is Kendra The New Kate Gosselin Or Bristol Palin On ‘DWTS?’