After 21 seasons, Dancing With the Stars is still experiencing firsts.
For the first time in the ABC reality hit's long history, a celeb has been forced to withdraw due to an injury: Bravo star Kim Zolciak-Biermann and her professional partner Tony Dovolani were disqualified from the show after her doctor advised her not to fly from Atlanta to Los Angeles after suffering a mini-stroke last week, preventing the couple from performing.
While Tony pleaded with Tom Bergeron to give the couple another chance, and Kim also pushing for a rule-change via Skype (and campaigning on social media, using the #bringkimandtonyback hashtag), the host explained their potential return would require lawyers as the rules when it comes to illness and other health-related matters are absolute.
But is this a rule that is meant to be broken, given the unusual circumstances of Kim's forced departure?
After Monday's shocking show, E! News chatted with the rest of season 21's celebrities about Kim's exit...and whether or not DWTS should bend the rules for her. And there are a lot of conflicting feelings!
"If it's in the contract, it's in the contract," longtime pro Mark Ballas said. "If it's in the rules, it's in the rules. We've had people withdraw before, just not in this fashion. What are you going to do? the reality is health and family come first. It's not easy. Yeah, it's a fun show, but it's very physical."
But not every other pair agreed with Mark's commitment to the show's strict rules, with Derek Hough saying, "If they wanted to have her come back, I'd absolutely be fine with that."
Carlos PenaVega would also like to see Kim return, telling us, "I'm really happy that she chose her health, and she chose to be with her family. I do feel badly, this show takes a lot out of you...I'd give her another shot!" And his professional partner agreed, with Witney Carson saying, "I would too!"
Though she wasn't cleared to fly, Kim was able to rehearse and learn the dance, giving the couple some hope that they could somehow continue on in the competition. "We didn't know until Tom announced it," Tony revealed to us about the disqualification. "I didn't know, but when Tom hugged me, I knew right away." Regardless, Kim tweeted that she is still "a winner," saying, "I have the most incredible husband (thanks for being my rock) and 6 AMAZING kids!"
To hear more from DWTS' celebs and pros about whether or not the show should #bringkimandtony back, watch our interviews with them above!
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays, 8 p.m. on ABC.