
Adam Taylor/ABC
Adam Taylor/ABC
Dancing With the Stars is down to nine after tonight's double elimination.
All the postshow buzz, both backstage and beyond, seemed to revolve around the hitch in Bristol Palin's confidence, when she accused partner Mark Ballas of "not being there" for her because he'd rather be dancing with somebody else.
But did Bristol's mini-meltdown get her sympathy votes or turn people off?
Well, for starters, guess who was totally safe?!
That would be Melissa Rycroft and Kelly Monaco, who tied for the lead last night with the season's first 27s, as well as Shawn Johnson, who was penalized for letting Derek Hough hoist her into the air during their quickstep—but still scored tonight's encore because the judges loved the rule-flouting routine, regardless.
No surprises there.
But didn't Drew Lachey look so disappointed to be eliminated this early? Six years after topping Stacy Keibler (wonder what she's up to these days) for the mirror-ball trophy, the season-two champ just never quite found his stride among the all-stars.
"I can honestly say I would not change a thing," Lachey said. "Everybody questioned why I would come back—I came back 'cause this is fun. We had a great time, I had an amazing partner."
"We had a deal though!" Nick Lachey's little bro wagged a finger at host Tom Bergeron. "You were never supposed to say my name. You welched on the deal!"
Joining Drew on the outs, meanwhile, was...wait for it...season-five winner Hélio Castroneves! (Meaning, folks are voting for Bristol yet again, despite the drama.)
"I want to thank my family, Chelsie, and I want to thank America! I couldn't be happier!" the IndyCar champ said graciously.
Also surviving to dance another day are Kirstie Alley, both of whom were dragged into jeopardy tonight; Emmitt Smith, who hasn't quite lived up to his championship season yet; Gilles Marini, who's been strong but not dominant; fan fave Apolo Anton Ohno; and Sabrina Bryan, who needs to make it to at least week six to equal her personal best.
Adam Taylor/ABC
Meanwhile, Drew got ousted in the first half of the show, but Hélio got a little revenge when the couples were tasked with picking dance styles for each other for next week, and he came up with mambo for Shawn and Derek.
Here are the other pairings:
Gilles & Peta: Bollywood
Sabrina & Louis: disco
Emmitt & Cheryl: bolero
Apolo & Karina: hip-hop
Melissa & Tony: jitterbug
Kelly & Val: contemporary
Kirstie & Maks: Charleston
Bristol & Mark: rock & roll
Alas, Hélio would have been the one doing Broadway.
Paula Abdul serves as a guest judge next Monday, see you then!
FOMO no More.
sign up now!
success!
Thank you for subscribing.
we're sorry. an error has occurred
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our US edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Canadian edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our UK edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Australian edition?
Dieser Inhalt ist für internationale Besucher verfügbar. Möchtest du ihn in der deutschen Version anschauen?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our German edition?
Une version adaptée de ce contenu est disponible pour notre public international. Souhaitez-vous voir ça dans notre édition française ?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our French edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Switch to US edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Switch to Canadian edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Switch to UK edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Switch to Australian edition?
Möchtest du zur deutschen Version wechseln?
Do you want to go to the German edition?
Souhaitez-vous vous rendre sur l'édition française ?
Do you want to go to the French edition?
This content is available customized for our international audience. Switch to US edition?
¡Hemos especializado nuestro sitio para tu región! ¿Quieres ir a E! Online Latino?
We have specialized our website for your region. Would you like to switch to our Latino edition?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Ja ! Yes! Oui! Yes! Yes! Yes! ¡Si! Yes!