Can anyone give me more insight on why he was cut? was it the issues with Brooks, or the onlyfans?

I enjoy Connor much more than the others as a person but we’ve got to be real and just admit he’s the worst dancer left. (I’m still voting for him for now but I can’t say he was underscored at all)

EDIT: specifically, learn to decipher between artistic and personal criticism—and so do fans

I’m seeing a lot of pros, and the parasocial fans who think they’re best friends, claim that folks online are “bullying” them. Let’s outline what actual bullying is real quick:

—comments about someone’s weight
—judgments about whether someone is a good parent, based on them choosing to do a dancing show
—allegations that someone is, for example, sleeping with someone on the production team
—comments about someone’s race or other demographic factor that’s out of their control
—threats
—allegations/accusations of drug or alcohol addiction, based on participating in a dancing show

Like, what Mark Ballas and Whitney Leavitt dealt with last year.

Here is an example of something that is NOT bullying:

“I didn’t/don’t care for this person’s choreography or choreographic style”
“In a one minute dance that’s supposed to be Latin, we don’t get any Latin choreography until about halfway in and then it’s two seconds of that and back to a bunch of lifts and basic hip hop”
“I don’t like the format/camera work”

When you are a creative professional and a public figure, on a show with PUBLIC VOTING no less, then guess what? Part of that means accepting that when you put a piece of work into the world, some people are going to like it and some people aren’t. That’s literally the job description for working in any creative industry in a commercial capacity. That’s what it involves.

I’ve been freelancing as an arts journalist for the past few years and I just have to say that this anti-criticism attitude a lot of people have is exhausting. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in the UK and am returning to the US and it’s cultural.

If one of the fandies from last year can vote without even watching the show as a “f*ck you” to the universe, then the votes of people who actually want to see ballroom choreography instead of just gimmicks also matter. Votes are votes.

A lot of the viewers at home do in fact have dance backgrounds.

Yet if you dare to criticise, “oH, yOu tHiNk YoU kNoW bEtTer tHaN tHE jUdGeS?! wELl aCtUaLly YoU’rE wRonG”

No one is “wrong” for not enjoying a piece of choreography danced by a non-expert on a competition reality show.

And furthermore, why are we babying celebrity contestants? I promise you, you don’t need to feel bad for a person making 250k a week (more than most Americans make in a year) on top of their already high incomes by being, mostly, mediocre at learning a new skill. These people have drivers and summer homes. They will be absolutely fine.

Where did this attitude come from where there’s somehow no distinction between criticising someone artistically and criticising them personally?

I imagine every pro (and star) wants to win but do you think some pros after being paired with certain stars are like “yeah we aren’t winning” (obviously internally i dont think any of them would say that out loud) and get disappointed?

For example: Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, i was honestly shocked he stayed as long as he did tbh but do you think the pros know kind of from the start if they actually have a shot at winning (knowing votes aren’t just the judges but also audience influence) i feel like Taylor didn’t have the judges or audience support going for him the way Guillermo had so much audience support to carry them through despite not being the most technically dance savvy.

I just wonder if the competitive nature of pros is bummed (internally) if they have a partner who isn’t a great dancer and isn’t very popular.

I could also just be too competitive and everyone’s just there for a good time no matter what and going home isnt a huge deal to pros.

They're such a warm and genuine partnership, it's so sad to see Connor be put down every week when he's clearly trying so hard and takes the judges feedback so seriously :(

It's also just nice to see a partnership that aren't getting messy in the social media comment replies 😅

ETA: I didn’t hate the movie AT ALL, I just don’t have an overwhelming love for it!

The music for Sinners is very unique and gothic and I think if it had been any other year “I Lied To You” would have won (NOTHING was beating “Golden”). With that being said, I think a dance to one of the songs for Horror Night would be awesome! The cover of “Rocky Road To Dublin” is also amazing and gives Disney Villain vibes in the best way but it might be a bit overkill since Mark and Maura are doing their Ireland dedication next week.

Zendaya wins the Val Chmerkovsiy's Partners Battle against Sherri Shepherd (to the surprise of no one), and the score is 5-5. S14 has 5 wins with William, Jaleel, Katherine, Donald, and Gladys - while S16 also 5 wins with Kellie, Jacoby, Aly, Wynonna and Zendaya. Both S14 & S16 were Tied in such a competitive Series.

I won't do a Battle Series for any 30s seasons atp since S35 is still ongoing beside S33 & S34, so I tried my best to held this until this season is over and see if it's compatible to the rest. This Series today is S18 vs S20.

My personal problem isn’t with the judges critiques, because I do trust their understanding and knowledge of ballroom, technique, and overall quality of the dances. My problem is with the clear favoritism and the differences with how they critique each performance. For instance, this week when they critiqued Jackson or Tyler, they were basically like “wow! You’re getting so much better! There were still some problems, but good job!” But yet when it comes to critiquing Connor, they’re specifically getting into every single detail of what he did wrong and telling him it’s not his best day?? And scoring him similar to Guillermo!!

Or something else I noticed today was the crazy switch up of how they critiqued Maura, then going right into scoring Jackson. Carrie Ann went straight into serious critiques of Maura’s dance whereas for Jackson she immediately just had great energy!!!

If they’re going to have favorites it should NOT be that clear. It’s making the show really unenjoyable, especially following up how much they kissed Robert’s ass all of last season.

Every week, there is something new to discuss surrounding the show, but this drama is so much worse. CAI was harsh, but Val has blown it out of proportion, and Jenna too for that matter. No other pro acts like this. With CAI now seeing his comments, could anything happen? Val is a favorite, so it will probably not even be a slap on the wrist. This did feel like it could be his last season, even before this. Do we think Jenna D could end up getting a new pro (would love Brandon), or do we think her votes will suffer? This not a good look for the show. Violence and threats can never be tolerated.

ETA: I've only watched since Kaitlyn Bristowe was on, but has anything of this magnitude ever happened before on the show?

I've noticed two things lately that I wanted to get other people's thoughts on.

1. The Carrie Ann backlash

I've noticed that all the judges can say or agree on the same thing, yet Carrie Ann seems to be the one who gets the most backlash for it. People constantly complain about the judges not having enough time to give critiques, or sometimes not giving any critiques at all and only saying positive things. But when Carrie Ann actually gives criticism, why is she the one getting attacked, especially when the other judges agree with her?

It seems like people are going after her more than ever, and honestly, I'm glad she continues to stand her ground. I hope she continues being a judge for as long as the show is on the air.

2. Do the pros feel untouchable because of fan support?

Do you think some of the pros feel like they can do no wrong because they know the fans online will automatically defend them and attack the judges instead? I wonder if that kind of support makes them feel justified in their actions, even when they might have something to take accountability for. Does knowing the fans will have their backs encourage them to lean into the online backlash rather than reflect on the situation?

I am looking at floor seats at PPG paints arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Are floor seats worth it if we’re at the ‘back’ of the floor? Or should we look in the 100s instead to be a little higher up for seeing the stage?

TIA!

Bring The Drama back. I want packages and the pros and celebs arguing with each other, threatening to quit, etc. Baby Derek was so different compared to this Derek. Stop being nice all the time

AND KUDOS TO LEN FOR CALLING OUT HIS BEHAVIOUR.

The caption from the creator of this video said ‘Apple doesn’t fall far does it’. Val to me was always the much better brother but he’s getting worse and worse by the day.

I know everyone thought season 29 was just a complete mid-off, and I'd partially agree. However, we're not going to act like Kaitlyn was terrible. She was pretty consistent and her technique was great. Nothing too flashy but good, solid dancing. Her freestyle is honestly one of the better ones in recent years, and that shot at the end with her in front with Artem looking so proud behind her, always gives me chills! In my opinion, I think she's the best Bachelor lead to win the show (sue me idgaf). She earned that win over Nev.

This is a fun & quick look at what happens during a show from the audience POV (behind the judges table). (IG cocomocoe)

Is anyone else surprised they don’t mention Tatyana being on Abbott Elementary?? I know she’s a minor character but it’s much more recent than Fresh Prince of Bel-Air so they could just mention both. Especially since it’s an ABC show, like how they’re saying Harry is from Greys Anatomy rather than Glee (which he’s potentially more well-known for)

I thought it was interesting info to point out something I have not seen since last year with Robert Irwin (trailing about a third behind was Alix Earle). I do keep this data because I am a numbers geek. This year it started with Guillermo consistently pulling in numbers that rivaled Robert Irwin. There was a large origin interest in Harry Shim right behind Guillermo but that number has dropped considerably (around 42%), and the top of the leader board has been Ezra until last week when Julia started to pull in the big numbers. This could be due to judge deeming that dance her 'breakthrough.' So, to encapsulate the most popular stars this week on dwts:

1) Julia (across all social media/+73% views and subs)
2) Guillermo (eliminated)
3) Ezra
4) Harry
5) Amba... j/k Amber

Biggest climber on social media this week is Julia Stiles.

Tatyana and Jan went from 10th in new Instagram and Tik Tok followers to 3rd. This is the biggest climb of the week. They were just a hair (1point) higher than Connor and Rylee that went from sixth go first.

Top three most watched YT videos on DWTS channel:

1)Julia 865k
2)Guillermo (eliminated) 322k
3)Ezra 219k
4)Harry 217k
5)Amber 190k

OVERALL in week 4 YT views

1)Guillermo
2)Harry
3)Maura

The most talked about dwts pairs on social media this week are
1) Guillermo elimination
2) Ezra dance (all 9's)
3) Jenna Johnson drama with the lift

Predictive markets peg these two as next most likely on the chopping block: Note that last week the bottom two were flipped.
1) Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess — 48-49% favorite to go home []()
2) Jackson Olson — 29%