Dancing with the Stars
Gossip (Page 2)

It took approximately four weeks longer than it should have, but Dancing with the Stars finally sent its two weakest competitors home this week.

Michael Irvin and Mark Dacascos were each sent packing, as the boring season will at least continue now with a quintet of worthy contestants.

Said the former NFL wide receiver. "Last night was a great night, and to see the audience here standing up as a way of saying they appreciate the hard work, it means a great deal to a lot of people right now, with the economy going the way it has."

We're not sure if any studies have proven that no-doc mortgage applicants suffering through foreclosure are comforted by D-listers dancing, but, hey, whatever makes you feel better, Michael.

Dacascos added: "[It's] certainly much harder than it looks on television. It's a lot easier to watch it than do it."

He'll have the chance to sit back and do so next week, as Kelly Osbourne, Donny Osmond, Aaron Carter, Mya and Joanna Krupa perform two dances each.

Did Dancing with the Stars hire the writers from Heroes this season?

There are too many characters on the ABC competition, none are particularly compelling and it's impossible to see where this season is going.

The only positive from season nine is that it thrust Joanna Krupa back into the national spotlight, enabling her to pose for Playboy once again next month. We're excited to see her naked.

Clothed and on the dance floor? Eh, we could take it or leave it. Krupa and Derek Hough performed well last night, at least, as this Dancing with the Stars recap reveals.

Taking the solo dances and group dances into consideration, this is a look at the week's leaderboard:

• Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough: 55
• Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff: 53
• Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson: 52
• Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel: 52
• Mya and Dmitry Chaplin: 49
• Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova: 47
• Mark Dacascos and Anna Trebunskaya: 43

Dancing with the Stars eliminated two of its more boring contestants this week.

We actually wrote that opening line before watching the show, as season nine's cast is so weak that pretty much anyone on the chopping block qualifies as unentertaining.

Last night, viewers gave the boot to Melissa Joan Hart and Louie Vito, but the actress didn't go quietly. She laid a guilt trip on all of America, saying post-elimination:

"It's tough, I was hoping to make it one more week. My husband was coming next week with my kids."

Vito was a bit more graceful in defeat. He told the audience:

"It's a lot harder than it looks, dealing with frustration, nerves, because you're doing something you're not comfortable with in front of millions of people. Every day I got out there and danced, I was proud of myself just for getting out there."

Next week, Dancing with the Stars will eliminate two more celebs. As host Tom Bergeron put it, this will "thin the herd."

i.e. Speed up this incredibly lackluster season of a typically enthralling competition.

This season's cast of Dancing with the Stars featured more celebrities than ever before.

There was just one problem: not a single one of them was noteworthy. No offense, Mark Dacasco and Louie Vito.

After a few boring episodes, we can also confirm that none are especially talented. Sure, Mya and Donny Osmond put on solid performances each week, but we're through week six after last night and there hasn't been a perfect 30 yet.

Heck, we don't even have Maksim Chmerkovskiy to stare at any longer, as he was voted out early.

Visit TV Fanatic for a detailed rundown of the evening's routines. Below, we've posted each pair's combined scores from its individual and group performances:

• Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough: 36
• Mya and Dmitry Chaplin: 35
• Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff: 33
• Mark Dacasco and Lacey Schwimmer: 32
• Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson: 31
• Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel: 25
• Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower: 24
• Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas: 24
• Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova: 23

Who was your favorite? Who should go home tonight? Write in. Let us know!

According to La Toya Jackson on last night's Dancing with the Stars results show, her late brother was a fan of the ABC competition.

The series returned the favor this week with a routine in Michael Jackson's honor, as the show's professionals spoke glowingly of the departed icon and then performed a version of his iconic "Thriller" dance.

Was this a true tribute to the singer? Or a ratings ploy? Call us cynical for even suggesting the latter, but it made more sense when DWTS honored Patrick Swayze in late September. At least he had actually taken part on the show.

Watch the video below and let us know your reaction to it:

Meanwhile, Michael Irvin must have incriminating evidence on all of America. What else explains how this poor dancer is still around?!? He didn't even find himself in the bottom two last night!

Natalie Coughlin got the axe instead, and seemed apologetic afterward. She said:

"I loved this so much. I guess I didn't show it, how much I loved it, but I really did. I'm sorry."

No apologies necessary, Nat. The country should be telling you how sorry it is for continuing to support Irvin, a former football star that is clearly giving less effort on the dance floor than any other contestant.

Donny Osmond earned his first 10s of the season last night on Dancing with the Stars.

Kelly Osbourne was sent to the hospital following the group performance, due to a foot injury.

But, for celebrity gossip purposes, the incident that stayed with us this week took place when Bruno Tonioli compared Aaron Carter to Robert Pattinson, reviewing his performance with:

"It was a little like watching Robert Pattinson tangoing in Twilight!"

Was there a Tango scene we missed in that movie?!?

Follow our link for a full recap from last night's Dancing with the Stars.

Below, meanwhile, you can see where each celebrity stood after the night was complete:

• Donny Osmond and Kym Jonhnson: 29
• Mya and Dmitry Chaplin: 27
• Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer: 26
• Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff: 24
• Joanna Krupa and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 24
• Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel: 24
• Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas: 23
• Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower: 22
• Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo: 22
• Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova: 21

This summer, So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe had this awesome Michael Jackson-dance-tribute episode of the Fox hit planned. He even had Paula Abdul putting it together ... until Team MJ nixed it at the last minute.

Whether it was Sony or the [Jackson] family estate, SYTYCD could not get the music cleared legally, as they must to use it on the show. Which is too bad.

Well, Dancing With the Stars will be putting on its own show dedicated to the late King of Pop. The special Jackson tribute will air this Tuesday, October 20.

All Season 9 DWTS pros - including Mark Ballas, Cheryl Burke, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, Chelsie Hightower, Derek Hough, Kym Johnson, Lacey Schwimmer, Jonathan Roberts, Edyta Sliwinska and Karina Smirnoff - are on board.

The late Michael Jackson will be honored on Dancing with the Stars.

That's cool and all, except for the fact that So You Think You Can Dance would have done a better job. DWTS' higher ratings probably persuaded Jackson's reps to green light it, but the late music icon himself would probably disapprove.

If he were alive, he'd be hiring his backup dancers out of the younger, hipper SYTYCD troupe (like winner Jeanine Mason) before the DWTS pros in a second.

DWTS' professionals are talented, but lack the unique, eclectic styles and wow factor that has consistently made SYTYCD one of the most fun shows on TV.

We hope we're proven wrong and Dancing With the Stars knocks it out of the park. But it seems like So You Think You Can Dance and its better production/direction, and more appropriate talent, should have been the pick to honor MJ.

Let's put it this way: Which show's cast would do the best job paying homage to Jackson's "Bad" video, for example? We rest our case.

Chuck Liddell is used to putting up a tougher battle than this.

The Ultimate Fighting champion and his partner, Anna Trebunskaya, were knocked out of the Dancing with the Stars competition last night, despite having never actually finished last in the judges' scoring. But it's fans who make the final call.

"I had fun. We had a good time, made a run at it," Chuck said.

"It's hard to do, I made a shot at it."

Anna added: "I had so much fun working with you. You are a gentle giant. You are my bear and you are my hippo. You made me so proud each single week!"

All together now: Awwww.

Anna Trebunskaya and Chuck Liddell have danced their last.

Aaron Carter, whose loca lambada fell way short, edged out Chuck in the bottom two. Perhaps he needs to quit banging Karina Smirnoff and start practicing.

The judges' bottom-dwellers, Michael Irvin and Louie Vito, charmed their way to safety while a previously-mediocre Melissa Joan Hart and Mya led the pack.

The remaining 10 stars will dance twice next week, one group hustle and then either the paso doble or Argentine tango for their individual rug-cutting.

Also on the program last night? The announcement we were all waiting for on the edge of our seats: Jake Pavelka will be the next star of The Bachelor!

The 11 contestants remaining performed one of four new styles last night: country two-step, lambada, bolero and Charleston.

While the latter was cute and entertaining, those that grinded to the lambada stole the show with a pair of "forbidden dances" practically too hot for TV.

Indeed, the FCC might level a few fines against Derek Hough and Joanna Krupa, as well as Mya and Dmitry Chaplin, after those four burned up the dance floor. Hough even pulled a Taylor Lautner and went shirtless.

Visit TV Fanatic for a full rundown of routines; and browse through a brief recap below:

• Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas: 28
• Mya and Dmitry Chaplin: 28
• Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough: 26
• Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson: 24
• Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo: 24
• Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel: 23
• Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer: 22
• Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff: 18
• Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya: 17
• Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower: 16
• Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova.: 16

FOLLOW THE JUMP TO WATCH HOUGH AND KRUPA IN ACTION.

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Citing injury, former Republican congressman and U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has officially dropped out of Dancing With the Stars.

The politician said that stress fractures in both feet did him in, forcing him out after he accomplished even less this year than Barack Obama.

Although he and Cheryl Burke were safe from elimination, DeLay said that he won't continue with the competition because he "can't practice."

"If you can't practice, you'll make a fool out of yourself out there, and I don't want to do that to Cheryl," the Texas native said on the show.

He added that he was most upset about missing out on dancing next week's Texas two-step, but Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron promised that if DeLay recovers, he can do the routine on the show's season finale.

"I'd love that," DeLay said. "That'd be wonderful."

Despite his serious injuries, Tom DeLay performed the samba, against the advice of his doctors and DWTS producers, on Monday night, and was safe.

"It's starting to hurt a little bit," he said after Monday's show. "It doesn't hurt when you're dancing... It's because of the adrenaline, you don't feel the pain, and that was the case. But I'm going to really feel it tomorrow, I bet you."

"We just decided we're going to take it one rehearsal at a time and see how far I got," he said. "I reached my goal of actually dancing tonight."

How was he motivated to stay in the competition as long as he did?

"I did so poorly last week, and I wanted to show people that I could dance," the Hammer said. "I never quit at anything! And the reason I came on this show is for the challenge, and I want to face the challenge."

Also eliminated on last night's show? Actress Debi Mazar, who is responsible for some good Entourage quotes, but brought little to the dance floor.

Who do you think will win with Mazar and the Hammer gone?