DWTS: Biggest News Stories From Franchise Cast This Week (Sep. 27)

The new season of Dancing With the Stars kicked off on September 20, and it’s time to share a roundup of the most notable news stories from week one. Last week, viewers get to meet all 15 couples and see them perform their first dances. Fans saw the show make history with the first same-sex couple. In addition, unfortunately, a dancer had their first injury. There was also some big news for a former co-host of the dancing competition series. While only a week has gone by, the drama is putting the show on everyone’s radar.

The competition just started, and DWTS already has multiple contestants who seem like contenders to take home the Mirrorball Trophy. People who want to know who is doing the best so far in the competition should be aware that singer and former Dance Moms star Jojo Siwa and her partner Jenna Johnson received the highest score of 29/40. Not far behind were Olympic Gold Medalist Suni Lee and her partner Sasha Farber. They received a score of 28/40.  As for the lowest on the leaderboard, film and TV actor Martin Kove and his partner Britt Stewart received a 13/40.

DWTS garnered quite a few news stories last week, beyond how well (or how poorly) the contestants are doing. Tom Bergeron, who was the host (or co-host) for 28 seasons before Tyra Banks took over, announced last week that he has a new hosting gig. Rachael Kirkconnell, Matt James’ girlfriend, expressed her excitement and support for his new role. Also, Brian Austen Green’s ex-wife Vanessa Marcil surprisingly showed her support.

JoJo Siwa Makes DWTS History

The 18-year-old JoJo Siwa made headlines earlier this month when she announced her partner was a woman. JoJo made her debut on the show last Monday night, alongside 27-year-old Jenna Johnson, who is married to Val Chemerinsky. JoJo and Jenna are the first-ever same-sex couple on a North American version of DWTS. While this is the first time Jojo will be dancing ballroom, she has been in dance ever since she appeared on the reality show, Dance Moms. It was no surprise that JoJo and Jenna received the highest scores of the night and the highest praise from the judges.

Jenna Johnson Got Injured

Shortly after completing their first routine, Jenna suffered a minor injury. During an interview with Page Six, the dancer revealed she had to take a day off from rehearsals last Tuesday after hurting her knee. “I slipped on JoJo’s dress, and both my feet actually came out from under me,” Jenna (whose husband Val said Olivia Jade earned this new chapter) revealed. Jenna added, “While I was in that process of trying to squeeze and not fall … my knee kind of tweaked, kind of slipped out of place, came back in.” She also said that while the incident was “very unfortunate,” she doesn’t plan on missing week 2. “They made me take a day off to just rest. So, icing the knee, but I feel fine,” Jenna added.

Brian Austen Green’s Ex-Wife Shows Her Support

Vanessa Marcil is Brian’s ex-fiance, with whom he shares a son, Kassius. Vanessa is supporting Brian throughout his DWTS journey. On Monday, Vanessa shared a photo on Instagram of the couple’s son. When the pic was taken, Vanessa and Kassius were on their way to watch Brian. He is dancing with his girlfriend Sharna Burgess on the ABC series. “Headed to see dad. #TeamGreen @dancingabc,” the 52-year-old Vanessa wrote in the caption. In the past, Brian and Vanessa haven’t always gotten along. At one point, she’d claimed he was absent from their son’s life. However, it seems the two buried the hatchet earlier this year after Brian gave Vanessa a shout-out in his roundup for International Women’s Day.

Tom Bergeron Gets A New Hosting Gig

The former DWTS host finally found a new gig more than a year after he was replaced by Tyra. On Wednesday, Deadline revealed that Tom will be hosting a new game show called Tic-Tac-Dough for NBC. The series is a remake of a game show that initially debuted on television in the late 1950s. It was revived in 1978 (until 1986) and once again in 1990. However, Tom, who might never return to DWTS, isn’t the only one who will host the new series. Jack Barry, Gene Rayburn, Wink Martindale, and more will be there along with Tom. The 66-year-old Tom confirmed the news himself by screenshotting the article and posting it to Instagram. “Does this mean I can stop being a tease?” Tom wrote in the caption.

Rachael Kirkconnell Celebrates Matt James’ Debut

Matt received quite a bit of support from his loving girlfriend, Rachael. The couple met during his season of The Bachelor, and she was his final pick. While they decided not to get engaged, the pair are closer than ever. During a recent interview with Page Six, Matt gushed about how supportive his 24-year-old girlfriend has been throughout the process. “She’s been supporting me in every way imaginable,” the 29-year-old said to the news outlet. Matt, who praised Rachael’s support, added that even her sister has been helping them since she is a dancer. Matt also revealed that when he isn’t in rehearsals with his professional dancing partner, Lindsay Arnold, Rachael steps in to help him hone his skills. “I come back and try to apply the same lessons that I learned during my rehearsals, and she’s whipping me into shape. So, it’ll be a lot of fun,” he added.

Olivia Jade Was Happy To Have Her Sister In The Crowd

Olivia Jade made her first onscreen appearance since her parents (Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli) became embroiled in the college admissions scandal. While neither of them was there to cheer her on, Olivia had her older sister Bella Giannulli there for support. “It was great having my sister in the crowd,” she told Page Six in an interview after she completed her first dance. Her sister’s support means everything to her, so having Bella there really helped Olivia to feel comfortable on the show. Bella even offered her younger sister some advice before she hit the DWTS ballroom floor for the first time. “The best advice she probably gave me was to just breathe,” Olivia admitted. The advice seemed to work as Olivia looked very confident. She even scored a 25/40 from the judges for her first dance with partner Val. This season of Dancing With the Stars is shaping up to be very exciting.

 Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Sources: Page Six, Vanessa Marcil/ Instagram, Tom Bergeron/ Instagram, Page Six, Page Six

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