One Couple’s Elimination on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Yacht Rock Night Left the Ballroom Stunned — Photos & Video

One couple walked into Yacht Rock Night hoping to keep their “Dancing with the Stars” dream alive. Instead, the performance they delivered under the ballroom lights would become their last.

The September 29 episode produced the season’s highest scores so far, while one celebrity sank to the bottom of the leaderboard with just 15 out of 30. But when the results were finally announced, someone else was sent packing.

Making the exit even more startling, a judge had just hailed the eliminated celebrity’s routine as his “best dance.” The elimination would soon leave viewers stunned, furious, and demanding answers.

A New Season High Set the Tone

Yacht Rock Night promised “smooth grooves, soft-rock classics and iconic hits that defined the yacht rock era,” according to ABC. The playlist included “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington Jr., and “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes.

Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov opened the episode with a foxtrot to Toto’s “Hold the Line.” According to The Hollywood Reporter’s recap, the judges awarded them three eights for a total of 24 out of 30 — the highest score of Season 35 at that point.

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson later matched their impressive 24, putting both couples at the top of the leaderboard. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas were close behind. Their quickstep to “Turn Your Love Around” earned 22 out of 30 and gave Higgins her first eight of the season.

The Leaderboard Began to Reveal a Very Different Story

Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach each received 21 out of 30. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold earned 20, while Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa finished with 19.

Three couples received 18 out of 30: Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong, Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, and one pair whose seemingly solid night was about to take a devastating turn.

Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess received 17. That left Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson sitting at the very bottom of the judges’ leaderboard with 15 out of 30. But Rodriguez and Carson were not eliminated.

The Lowest Score Did Not Mean Elimination

The night’s fate came down to more than the judges’ numbers. On “Dancing with the Stars,” the couple with the lowest combined total of judges’ scores and viewer votes is eliminated.

Each viewer can cast up to ten votes for each couple through each voting method, using ABC’s website and text voting. Voting takes place live during the East Coast broadcast and ends shortly after the final performance.

West Coast viewers hoping to have their say therefore need to vote between 5 p.m. PT and approximately 6:45 p.m. PT. That system meant Rodriguez and Carson’s 15 out of 30 did not automatically send them out of the competition.

Instead, one of the couples sitting three points above them was eliminated. And this was not a pair leaving after an obvious disaster on the dance floor. Their final routine had earned 18 out of 30, and Derek Hough had called it the celebrity’s “best dance.”

Then came the result.

Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart Were Sent Home

Taylor Hanson and professional partner Britt Stewart were eliminated from Season 35 during Yacht Rock Night. ABC News reported that Hanson and Stewart’s final dance was a foxtrot to The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.”

The pair received 18 out of 30 — three points more than Rodriguez and Carson. It meant Hanson’s most highly praised performance of the competition would also be his last.

The Hollywood Reporter described the ballroom as stunned following the announcement. Hanson and Stewart both said they were incredibly grateful to have shared their “DWTS” journey.

The shock elimination also brought an abrupt end to a partnership Stewart had spoken about with enthusiasm before the competition even began.

Stewart Saw Hanson’s Commitment From the Start

Shortly before the Season 35 premiere, Stewart told The Hollywood Reporter she was “excited” about being paired with the Grammy nominee. Stewart said that, as a millennial, she understood the significance of Hanson appearing on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Their very first meeting also gave her an early glimpse of just how seriously he planned to take the competition. Hanson told Stewart he would do whatever she needed him to do.

He even said that if competing meant buying a cot and sleeping at the dance studio so they could rehearse constantly, he would do it. For Stewart, that fierce commitment came as a relief. “He wants to work for this. He’s in it to win it. That commitment is so important,” she said.

Three weeks into the competition, however, their partnership was suddenly over — despite Hanson receiving praise for his final routine. It did not take long for viewers to flood the comments with their own blistering reactions.

Fans Questioned What They Had Just Seen

Comments on an Instagram post about the eliminated couple ranged from disappointment over Stewart’s exit to outright criticism of the result.

One person wrote, “I feel so bad for Britt she looked so upset getting eliminated.She [sic] gets overlooked every year.” Another demanded that the result be reconsidered: “Revote! Noooo way yall [sic] were the lowest.”

Rodriguez’s survival also became a flashpoint because his 15 out of 30 was lower than Hanson and Stewart’s score. “Absolutely insane. There is NO way Guillermo had more votes than taylor [sic],” one commenter wrote.

“Dancing with the Stars” bases elimination on the combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. Some viewers nevertheless alleged that the result was rigged. One commenter unleashed their frustration in full:

“I can safely say I will never watch this show again. Not the first time someone who actually deserved to be there got voted out too early because of rigged results. There is no planet where Taylor didn’t get enough votes to stay. He has an army behind him. See ya Never DWTS.”

Another reacted, “So this show is over for me. Can’t believe Taylor and Britt are out! They are amazing.” A separate comment read, “Rigged BS show. You permanently lost a LOT of viewers tonight. BIG MISTAKE. BYEE 👋.”

Hanson’s score itself also came under fire. One viewer wrote, “The scores are too low! He deserved better!!!”

The Competition Moves On With 12 Celebrities

Hanson and Stewart became the latest couple to leave after three weeks of competition. On September 15, Conner Leavitt and pro partner Adele Zaikman were eliminated during the first night of the premiere.

They had performed a salsa to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is).” The following night, Sarah Jane Nader and pro partner Hailey Bills went home after performing a jive to Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi.”

Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten became the next pair eliminated during Viral Hits Night on September 22. Their final performance was a salsa to Becky G’s “Bella Ciao.” After the Yacht Rock Night elimination, 12 celebrities remain in the race for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

They are Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa, Jenna Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy, Tatyana Ali with Jan Ravnik, Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach, Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov, and Connor Wood with Rylee Arnold.

Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong, and Jackson Olson and Emma Slater also remain.

For Hanson and Stewart, the numbers tell the brutal story of their final night: They did not receive the lowest judges’ score, and their last foxtrot was singled out by Hough as Hanson’s “best dance.”

Still, once the judges’ scores and viewer votes were combined, their “Dancing with the Stars” journey came to a sudden end.