The curtain has come down for one celebrity contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”
(Spoiler Alert: This story contains the results and details from Monday night’s episode of “DWTS.”)
He may be an NFL veteran, but Keyshawn Johnson didn’t have enough game in the ballroom to stay in the competition. He and partner Sharna Burgess were the first pair to be eliminated in Season 17.
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“It’s experience,” Keyshawn said on Monday night, when “DWTS” co-host Brooke Burke Charvet asked what he takes away from his time on the show.
“For a guy that’s never even bobbed his head in a car, the fact that I could have the experience to dance and learn what dancing is all about and Sharna teaching me is something amazing to me,” he continued. “I don’t really care at this point about whether we in or lose. It’s just the fact that I had the opportunity to learn from her. I think she’s an amazing choreographer and her time will come. I wish I could have done more to help her out.”
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While the show said goodbye to Keyshawn, it was a very happy night for Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff, who took their “High School Musical”-themed jive to the top of the Monday night leaderboard.
“That was so much fun,” an impressed judge Carrie Ann Inaba raved. “Do it again! Do it again! I love your athleticism. Your musicality is spot on; you turned every movement out perfectly, but then there’s just sort of like [a] raw edge to it that makes it feel really exciting.”
The pair had the highest score of the week — 26 out of 30 points. Their two-week total, though — 50 out of 60, was one point off Amber Riley and Derek Hough’s two week score.
Amber and Derek are still in the game, on the hunt for the mirrorball, but slipped a little from their 27-point total in Week 1. Their jive was called, “a little flat footed,” by Carrie Ann, and earned them just 24 points. Their overall two-week total was 51 out of 60.
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Aside from eliminations and favorites, Leah Remini brought up her departure from the Church of Scientology in rehearsals with Tony Dovolani. (She did not mention the church by name.)
“’I’m going through a personal big change for me and my family,” she told her Tony in her “DWTS” clip package.
“I was always so scared to be myself or used to everything that happens to us is our fault. You’re used to taking a lot of negativity on yourself,” she added as the clip continued. “The church is looking to me to fail so that they can say to their parishioners, ‘You see what happens when you leave the church?’ Like, they’re waiting for me to fail.”
Leah added that the show was a chance to grow.
“’Dancing with the Stars’ really is about me growing, about me coming out strong and feeling strong. I think I’m starting to have more fun,” she said.
And she did.
Hitting the ballroom in a hot pink number, she tackled the samba.
“It was great,” British judge Len Goodman raved.
“You unleashed your samba goddess, honey. This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Carrie Ann said.
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The pair earned an impressive 24 points, for a two week total of 45.
Leaderboard for Monday, September 23:
Amber Riley & Derek Hough: 24/30; Two week total: 51/60
Corbin Bleu & Karina Smirnoff: 26/30; Two week total: 50/60
Elizabeth Berkley Lauren & Val Chmerkovskiy 25/30; Two week total: 49/60
Christina Milian & Mark Ballas: 25/30; Two week total: 47/60
Jack Osbourne & Cheryl Burke: 24/30; Two week total: 47/60
Brant Daugherty & Peta Murgatroyd: 23/30; Two week total: 45/60
Leah Remini & Tony Dovolani: 24/30; Two week total: 45/60
Nicole Polizzi & Sasha Farber: 20/30; Two week total: 43/60
Valerie Harper & Tristan MacManus: 19/30; Two week total: 40/60
Bill Engvall & Emma Slater: 21/30: Two week total: 39/60
Keyshawn Johnson & Sharna Burgess: 18/30; Two week total 35/60
Bill Nye & Tyne Stecklein: 17/30; Two week total: 31/60
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