It felt like the thrill of victory, only to be followed by the agony of elimination.
Even if you're not a fan of her work, or a fan of the show, you may have heard that Heather Morris was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars Season 24 on the same episode where she achieved the first perfect score of the season in her Rumba.
What Happened with Heather Morris?
Let's flash back to week 5: Disney Week.
Heather, and her understudy Alan (who did a fantastic job filling in for Maks while injured) danced a fantastic Jazz routine to the song "For the First time in Forever" from the hit Disney movie, Frozen.
Heather was Anna. Heather was dancing Jazz. Heather was in her element.
Here's what we said about her Disney week performance:
"She danced as if she was singing the song, in the movie, and looked like she had personally choreographed her own number. It was an exceptional performance.... While the top female on DWTS 24 could be up for debate, there's no doubt that Heather Morris is part of that conversation.
Prediction: She's hitting her stride at just the right point in the season, and should be safe until the final weeks of the show."
Enter Week 6: Maks is Back + Perfect Score
In addition to Maks returning from his injury, Heather demonstrated one of the best performances of the season - earning a perfect score - with 40 out of 40 on her Rumba performance.
It was sultry, it showed great Latin technique, and showed that Morris had vaulted into the running for the championship.
And then this happened....
Yes, those are boos, gasps, and at least one person in the audience screaming "hell no". With a result (perfect score) that should have been the crowning achievement in her season so far, it's the shocking result (elimination) that has had such a viral, and visceral, reaction.
Her former Glee co-star, Lea Michelle, had this to say, "We were all really sad, but I think she's incredible," Michele said on WWHL. "She's a mom of two, she's gorgeous and she's in her element, back dancing. So, I think it was an incredible thing, win or lose."
The Rules via the ABC website
"During the live shows each week for the Spring 2017 season, the stars will dance their hearts out. Then, fans like you vote for your favorite dancers. Your votes will be combined with the judges scores, and the following week, the pair with the lowest combination of votes and scores will be eliminated." - [Read more here]
What this Means
1. Heather's elimination had nothing to do with her perfect score performance.
2. Heather's elimination was based on her Frozen routine.
3. Heather didn't receive enough votes from the viewing public to keep her on the show.
Why Did This Happen? 3 Practical Possibilities
This is the paradox on reality talent competitions. People tend to assume that the talented performers won't go home, so they choose to vote for the underdogs. In this case, both Nick Viall and Bonner Bolton could fall into that category.
Because Morris has a background in dancing, there were some that felt like she had an unfair advantage in the show, and it could have been this Frozen performance that sealed that sentiment.
People are just really tired of that song from Frozen.
The Backlash
Naturally, there are a wide variety of ideas swirling around as to how someone like Morris could get eliminated ahead of a field of celebrities that lacked her ability.
"subpar male contestants...."
"victimized by @DancingABC ...."
"lost most their views....."
What Do You Think?
Could this be a case of the public voting for the underdog, and treating a front-runner like they were safe? Or do you think ABC had an ulterior motive? If so, what does ABC gain by doing so?
In the meantime, there's a petition being shared on Change.Org to bring Heather back to the show, along with a hashtag: #justiceforHeather
Share your comments in the section below.
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