Dancing With the Stars wasn’t kidding when it announced the show would have a “shocking” double-elimination on last night’s show. Low-scoring celebs Eric Roberts, an Oscar nominee for Runaway Train, and Reginald VelJohnson (Diehard) are still in the competition! Instead, actress Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills, 90210) and former convict Anna Delvey, the subject of Netflix’s Inventing Anna, were given the boot despite earning higher scores than the two male actors.
Host Alfonso Ribeiro asked Delvey, after she’d been voted off, what she’d be taking with her as she left the competition. “Nothing,” she quipped. Was that a double entendre given her criminal past? Or was she simply glad to be leaving the competition reality series? TV Insider didn’t see her on the post-show press line. However, we did speak to Spelling and her pro partner Pasha Pashkov, about their exits, as well as some pros about Delvey’s dance partner Ezra Sosa’s performance on the show as a first-time pro dancer.
“This is a reality TV show and the thing is, at the end of the day, it’s about the scores,” Pashkov philosophized about Spelling being voted off. “The scores, the judging matters but the voting matters a lot, too. I couldn’t be more proud of Tori and excited that she had this experience. I saw personal growth.”
“This was an amazing experience,” Spelling concurred. She may have only been in the competition for two weeks, but she’s as joyful about her tenure on the program as any Mirrorball champion has ever been. “This was one of the best experiences of my entire life,” the daughter of late legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Charlie’s Angels) said.
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Might Spelling’s fans call for a recount with the same fervor that Donna Martin’s classmates had when they chanted “Donna Martin Graduates” so she could finish up high school with her peers on Beverly Hills, 90210? “Wouldn’t that be cool?” she responded. “Put it out there!”
Spelling may be out of the competition but will she return to the show in the coming weeks to cheer on her DWTS pals from the audience? “Of course,” she says with a smile. “They’re like my family now. I’ve worked on a lot of shows, and this is the kindest family I’ve ever met. I’ve been in the media for a long time.”
About 30 years ago, in fact, Spelling was spoofed on Saturday Night Live by cast member Melanie Hutsell in a skit that took place in the Spelling mansion. Had the actress ever seen the comic’s spot-on impression of her?
“Of course, I’m her biggest fan because I can laugh at myself,” Spelling responds. “I used to do a wicked impersonation of her impersonating me.”
DWTS is no stranger to casting controversial figures, but those individuals don’t often leave the game as early as Delvey has. Alas, not even Sosa’s likability could keep the duo in the competition. The former troupe member’s fellow dancers complimented the newcomer on not only how handled himself as a pro but also for navigating interviews where he was asked about the polarizing Delvey.
“Ezra did a great job,” Gleb Savchenko said. “He did well with Anna. The routines were great. Congratulations [to him] on a first season as a pro.”
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“It was heartbreaking [watching him go],” sighed Emma Slater. “It’s his first season as a pro. I really don’t want him to beat himself up. He did a phenomenal job. These were the cards he was dealt. He’ll be back.”
“Ezra did a great job,” concurs Valentin Chmerkovskiy. “I think he needs to be given another chance with somebody that wants to be here.”
Dancing With the Stars, Tuesdays, 8/7, ABC
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