Dancing With The Stars: 10 Most Unfair Eliminations, According To Reddit

Dancing With The Stars has always relied on fans’ voting as an integral part of the way the reality competition operates. Viewers at home have been given the option to vote for their favorite celebrity and their professional dance partner to remain on the show since it first aired in 2005, with their votes and the judges’ scores determining the results each week.

Despite the assumption that some celebrities may have larger fanbases or others will be safe based on high scores from the judges alone, many couples have been shockingly eliminated. These seemingly unfair eliminations have caused an uproar among fans and Redditors, with exits that happened on the show years ago still being mentioned in conversation years later.

10 Shannen Doherty (Season 10)

Viewers were excited during the 10th season to see 90210 and Charmed alum Shannen Doherty participating with fan-favorite professional ballroom dancer Mark Ballas. However, her run on the show was short-lived, as she and Mark were eliminated first despite receiving pretty middle of the road scores the first two weeks.

Redditor Leader_Signal discussed their feelings toward the unfair elimination by saying, “Shannen Doherty and Mark Ballas were the first couple eliminated and looking back at their two dances and their finale dance, they had some of the highest potential that whole season and while I don’t think they should’ve or would’ve won I think they were worthy of about 6th place.”

9 Willow Shields (Season 20)

10 seasons later, Mark Ballas was one half of another sad elimination when he and 14-year-old partner Willow Shields lost the competition. The pair came in 7th place overall when some audience members were sure that The HungersGames actress would make the semi-finals at least due to her fun attitude and good scores.

Reddit user fangirl5301 contributed to a thread asking which celebrities were eliminated from the show too soon by saying,  “Willow for sure was gone to soon! When my friends told me she was eliminated I literally screamed “WHAT” and when I watched I was on the floor in shock!! She deserved to stay on longer for sure!!”

8 Sabrina Bryan (Season 5, Season 15)

The Cheetah Girls‘ actress Sabrina Bryan wasn’t just unfairly eliminated from the show once (according to Reddit), but twice. The first time was in the fifth season when she and ballroom (and rumored real-life) partner Mark Ballas came in 7th place despite receiving some of the highest scores. The second time was during the all-star season when she and Louis van Amstel were eliminated sixth, placing 8th overall.

Redditor That253Chick answered another Reddit user’s question about which contestants were unfairly eliminated by writing, “Sabrina Bryan, both times she was on the show.  I’m still bitter about it, tbh.” Both times Sabrina exited the show she seemed shocked and saddened, with fans still rallying behind her as someone who deserves another chance on the ballroom floor.

7 Christina Milian (Season 17)

While the 17th season of Dancing With The Stars was filled with many contenders, fans have asserted that actress and musician Christina Milian deserved far better than coming in 9th place. For the first five weeks of the competition, her scores were highly favorable, much better than comedian Bill Enguvall who came in 4th that season.

Reddit user Leader_Signal wrote on a thread praising Christina Milian and pointing out how unfair her early elimination was, “She was so much fun to watch wish she lasted longer, Week 5 was just too soon.”

6 Mel C (Season 30)

Season 30 of Dancing With The Stars was promised to be one of the most competitive yet, and nostalgic 90s fans were excited when they saw that Sporty Spice herself was going to be competing. Despite scoring well each week, Mel C came in 11th place, getting eliminated during Grease night.

Redditor NK_55 wrote of their disappointment following her exit, “I really liked Melanie C, I was so excited that she was going to be a part of this season, and thought she was a worthy winner, or at least a finalist.” Other viewers pointed out that while Mel C’s elimination in and of itself was unfair, so was the fact that she and Olivia Jade, two early frontrunners of season 30 were put in the bottom two the week that she went home.

5 Charlie White (Season 18)

Olympic figure skater competed against his partner on the ice Meryl Davis during the 18th season of Dancing With The Stars. Despite the assumption that both Olympic athletes would be frontrunners on the season, Charlie and his partner Sharna Burgess came in only 5th place, shockingly missing out on the semi-finals.

Reddit user Mrs_Xs complained of Charlie’s treatment on the show, referencing the rivalry between he and fellow Olympian Meryl, “Charlie White was AMAZiNG! Meryl/Maks ruined his chances. I loved every dance he did and he deserved to make it much farther than he did.”

4 Tinashe (Season 27)

Season 27 of Dancing With The Stars was deemed unfair and shocking for a number of reasons, one of which being the early elimination of singer Tinashe and her partner Brandon Armstrong. Other contestants on that season (like Bachelor Nation’s Joe Ambaile) had a record low scores and made it to the semi-finals, while consistently improving Tinashe was sent home after getting some of the highest scores.

A reddit user contributed to a thread asking which contestant was unfairly eliminated by writing, “Tinashe. Sometimes a ringer misses out on the finale, it happens and that’s DWTS for you but someone like her going out Week 4 was criminal!”

3 Juan Pablo Di Pace (Season 27)

Fuller House star and season 27 frontrunner Juan Pablo Di Pace and partner Cheryl Burke seemingly had the mirrorball trophy in the bag following their multiple perfect scores (including the first one awarded that season) and great chemistry. However, their unfair elimination took place during the semi-finals when radio host Bobby Bones was shockingly announced safe instead of them.

Redditor ExtensionProblem wrote of a possible semi-finals curse when speaking of his unjust elimination, “Juan Pablo was an unreal dancer last season. Each week he did better than the last and the judges loved him…Yet, come the end of the night, he gets eliminated.”

2 Heather Morris (Season 24)

Glee star Heather Morris had previous experience as a backup dancer for pop star Britney Spears, but was brand new to the ballroom and deemed a ringer from the beginning of season 24. Despite her high scores and a flawless dance to “Toxic”, she and partner Maks came in 8th place, leading to several audience and judges’ gasps when she was eliminated.

1 James Van Der Beek (Season 28)

Dawson’s Creek alum James Van Der Beek was a frontrunner for most of the 28th season of Dancing With The Stars and one half of one of the show’s most popular pairings. When he made the semi-finals, fans were sure that he was going to take home the mirrorball trophy with his partner Emma Slater. However, the judges chose to send Fifth Harmony’s Ally Brooke over him to the finale, leaving everyone around them crushed.

James’ heartbreaking exit (the same week his wife suffered a life-threatening miscarriage) and host Tom Bergeron’s firing follow season 28 led to the end of the road for many longtime DWTS fans. Redditor Cxx510 wrote of the shocking results,  “I’m still so upset the judges didn’t save him. He got robbed!!”

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Emily Proctor
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Emily Proctor is an entertainment writer and avid television fan. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. In addition to writing for Screenrant, Emily frequently publishes personal essays on her Medium profile and personal blog SheWritesTV.com. She is also an aspiring actress and songwriter.

You can follow Emily on Twitter at @emproct for more of her opinions on pop culture, the latest TV and movies, and links to her work.

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