This upcoming week is the finale of Dancing with the Stars, a celebrity ballroom competition show. Dancing with the Stars pairs celebrities with professional dancers to compete in themed ballroom routines, judged by a panel of judges, and voted on by viewers online. Each week, a pair is eliminated, leading to the finale where the show awards the winning duo. This year, there have already been eight eliminations with five pairs remaining. Normally, the show is filled with light-hearted energy, but the last few episodes have delivered a tension that is almost unrecognizable.
Recent drama featuring Whitney Leavitt
Whitney Leavitt, a cast member on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and the most recent celebrity voted off Dancing with the Stars, seems to be the core of recent controversy. A few days prior to the semi-finals, season 3 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives was released, which Leavitt originally was not planning to appear on but ultimately chose to return to. In episode five, Leavitt claims that she only returned to the show because of Dancing with the Stars; fans did not take this lightly. For audience members, the words Leavitt transpired seemed like she was chasing publicity instead of being authentic during her time on Dancing with the Stars. Lindsay Cavanagh, Danbury High School (DHS) counselor, adds, “ I think that made her look really bad.”
During the semi-finals, Leavitt cursed during her interview with her partner, Mark Ballas, leading many to question whether that slip-up was what actually cost her a spot.
In addition, many felt that her presence was unfair to the other contestants since Leavitt has past dance experience, along with a fine arts degree in dance from Brigham Young University. Tara Fagan, a devoted viewer of the show, shares her opinion saying, “It is kinda unfair to the other contestants who have to push ten times harder to dance these routines, as they have never danced before.” Despite these feelings from fans, this is not prohibited and has been a recurring theme every year with at least one celebrity.
Underscoring celebrities
What really sent fans over the edge was when Leavitt would stack up 10s from the judges, but non-dancers like Alix Earle, Robert Irwin, and Jordan Chiles, continuously were getting undermined for their hard work. “She’ll even make a mistake, and they’ll still give her a 10.” Cavanagh says, referring to Leavitt’s constant high scoring. During Halloween night, Earle seemed to be a fan favorite, between the choreography, acting, and costume. Although she was receiving an immense amount of love from viewers, she unfortunately did not receive all 10s. That night Earle’s step mom, Ashley Dupre, made a snarky remark towards the guest judge, Cheryl Burke, on TikTok, who was the only judge who didn’t give Earle a 10. She was criticizing Burke’s figure, and use of ozempic, just for giving Earle a 9. Her comment was followed by a wave of commotion, with reactions split between criticism and agreement. Burke spoke out on TikTok, addressing the comments that were made, saying they were harmful, and outdated, insisting her body was strong and healthy. Earle replied to Burke’s video in a comment, stating , “I [she] really appreciated your critiques and feedback, so helpful for me as someone in the competition, thank you.”
The concern of underscoring extends beyond a guest judge. This problem is also echoed in Carrie Ann’s judging as well, who has been a judge on the show since the premiere in 2005. Fans have profusely accused Ann for having a sexist judging viewpoint, giving male contestants more lenience, while being harsher on female contestants. This season, those accusations felt justified as she repeatedly scored Dylan Efron higher despite major mistakes, while consistently underscoring Earle even when the other judges ranked her above him. Earle only just a few weeks ago received her first 10 from Ann, finally breaking ground with her, while Dylan received his first 10 from Ann a month prior.
Final five
The final five consist of Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy, Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, and Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa. On social media, most claim the winner will be a split between Earle and Irwin, both who have drastically improved with no dance experience. Efron meanwhile, has been a point of debate all season, earning high scores from early on, which has made his fate hard to predict. Hendrix, to her dismay, comes into the finale with a slight disadvantage after she had injured herself during her time on the show. Because of her circumstances, viewers are already predicting she won’t win. Cavanagh gives her input that “ I’m [she] really rooting for Jordan and Ezra because Ezra has never won a Mirror Ball, since this is only his second season.” Meanwhile Fagan believes “Alix and Val will win due to her popularity, and because of how well she has done on the show as a whole.” Even Cavanagh, who stands with Sosa, explains that, “I [she] was not a big fan of Alix at first, because I [she] don’t love social media influencers that become famous and then get all this stuff, its unfair…but she has a really good attitude and she’s actually like a really good dancer, so it’s anybody’s game.” Although Irwin and Earle seem to have the lead, the Mirror Ball can really swing in any direction. Season 34 is heading into its finale with no clear front runner, just five competitors hungry for the win.
