Season 30 of Dancing With the Stars is almost halfway through and the competition is quickly narrowing down thanks to Tuesday night’s surprise double elimination. But it wasn’t who left the show that’s upsetting DWTS fans, but rather how their elimination was decided.
In honor of Disney Villains Night, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore channeled her inner Evil Queen from Snow White. Set to Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman,” the TV personality performed the Viennese Waltz with her pro partner Brandon Armstrong and she was praised for her effort. Next, Bachelor star Matt James and pro Lindsay Arnold hit the dance floor to do the Paso Doble inspired by The Jungle Book.
When it came time for the double elimination, Brian Austin Green and pro Sharna Burgess were automatically sent home after getting the lowest combined total of judges scores and viewer votes. Host Tyra Banks then went on to explain it all came down to judge Len Goodman. “It’s going to be up to the judges to save one of the bottom two couples and keep them in this competition. If the first three judges are divided, then Len, as our head judge, will cast the deciding vote,” she said.
In other words, Len’s vote had the most weight and whoever he chose, would stay. Bruno Tonoli and Carrie Ann Inaba chose to save Matt and Lindsey while Derek Hough chose to save Kenya and Brandon. “Two votes to one that means the judges are divided. Both of these couples are still in the running. We turn to our head judge Len making this final decision,” Tyra said.
After deliberating out loud, Len ultimately chose to save Kenya, prompting her to fall to her knees in shock. While she and Brandon celebrated, folks watching at home weren’t as ecstatic about the news. Many took to Twitter to voice their opinion about how the show made the elimination process confusing with Len’s vote and argued that it should have been a tie instead.
“So understanding the rules on DWTS, how is it fair that Len ultimately decides who goes home and it wasn't even like 2-2 vote, it was just up to him basically. What is this, the Len show?” one person wrote.
But not everyone was on the same page, and some folks broke down the rule detail by detail. “People are still confused about how a 2-1 vote is split? There are 3 other judges besides Len so 2/3 is a SPLIT decision. They also said if the other 3 judges' decision isn't unanimous Len decides. So, you can say the vote was split OR the vote was not unanimous,” a different fan said. “Y’all really cannot do simple math. How could the vote be 2-1 with 4 judges it was 2-2. Bruno and Carrie picked Matt and Len and Derek picked Kenya. Since Len is the head judge his vote overrides the tie,” another added. “Why is everyone confused about Len's vote. If he voted Matt, then it would be 3-1. If he voted Kenya, its 2-2 but his vote is the deciding vote - so Kenya stays. Not complicated,” a follower commented.
Well, there you have it. Len had the final say and his notes for the celebrity contestants foreshadowed this moment. He told Matt he was looking for “posture, passion and performance” in the Paso and he “saw a little bit of that.” But the judge emphasized that Matt could “give so much more.” Meanwhile, Len told Kenya that “it was a lovely dance in three-four time and it was done very, very well.”
