‘DWTS’ Judges Admit They’re Frustrated With Voters: ‘People Should Be Voting For The Best Dancer’
After viewers’ voting led to an unexpected bottom two on the Nov. 4 episode of ‘DWTS,’ judges Carrie Ann and Bruno opened up to us EXCLUSIVELY about why it’s so frustrating to see the ‘worst dancer’ still in the competition.
Despite receiving the lowest judges scores week after week on Dancing With the Stars, Sean Spicer has avoided elimination thanks to his popularity with voters, who have helped him avoid the bottom two. During the Nov. 4, episode, Ally Brooke, who scored a perfect 30, and Kate Flannery, who scored a 24, were the two stars in danger of going home, and the judges chose to eliminate Kate. However, they did not hide their frustrated reactions to Sean not being in the bottom two again, and dished more about it after the show.
“You want to bang your head on the desk,” Bruno Tonioli told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “But I do get it and the appeal — he is funny and amusing, and I do understand how people connect to all of that. But as we keep saying, don’t do that at the expense of the people who really deserve the recognition and don’t assume because somebody is on top of the judges leaderboard that they are safe. They are not. By voting that way, you are really making a mistake, and I do understand it, but you should remind yourself that you should recognize hard work and talent.”
Carrie Ann Inaba also weighed in, and urged people to vote strictly based on what they saw on the show….and not outside factors, like politics. “I understand why the audience feels for him — he is an underdog, and he is a good sport. He is the worst by far, but he keeps showing up and trying and that touches people’s hearts. But there might be something else at work that is pushing it a little further, and that is a little concerning. If it is truly your heart’s desire to vote, then great, but if you are trying to diminish what we do as a show, that hurts my heart. All these people are working so hard to do well. We are a dance competition — people should be voting for the best dancer. We are meant to bring entertainment and lightheartedness to the world. We need that now.”
This is not the first time that unexpected results have frustrated viewers of the show. Last season, Bobby Bones was the winner of DWTS, despite receiving lower scores than the other finalists week after week. Now, the judges get more of a say in who gets voted off because they have the final say regarding which of the bottom two will go home. However, since Sean has yet to land in the bottom two, he has not been an option for elimination.
Now, six contestants remain: Sean, Ally, James Van Der Beek, Hannah Brown, Kel Mitchell and Lauren Alaina. The show continues with another live episode on Monday, Nov. 11 at 7:00
