Dancing with the Stars cut Willow Shields and her professional partner Mark Ballas during Monday night's broadcast of the twentieth season on ABC.
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"You know, it is what it is," Mark said following his ouster as Willow cried.
"I want to first of all say a big thank you to Willow for being the most incredible partner. I think she's shown incredible improvement from Day 1, taking risks. She's only 14 guys. She's out there dancing, keeping up with everybody. Thank you again. It's been an incredible ride. This is all about her for me, and I'm just really, really proud."
Willow and Mark had finished in a tie for second place last week with another couple, finishing only three points below the pair who had landed in first place and topped the judging leaderboard.
This week featured dances from different eras as well as a "Dance-Off" for immunity. After the first round of individual dances, the highest-scoring couple of the night would be safe from elimination while the other six pairs must square off against each other for two extra bonus points from DWTS judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli.
Willow and Mark's departure was a surprise because they finished in first place on the judges' leaderboard with 39 out of 42 total possible points. They received 37 out of 40 points for their futuristic jazz routine and then won their salsa dance-off with a 4-0 vote against R5 frontman Riker Lynch and partner Allison Holker for two additional bonus points.
However, Olympian Nastia Liukin and her temporary partner Sasha Farber -- who was filling in for an injured Derek Hough -- won immunity because their individual Charleston routine, which was inspired by modern times, earned 38 points from the judges. As a result, they didn't have to compete in the dance-off, but that also meant they missed out on the opportunity to add more points to their original score.
U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway and partner Sharna Burgess tied with Nastia and Sasha for second place on the leaderboard with 38 total points. Although Noah and Sharna only received 36 judges' points for their individual 1970s-style jazz routine, they won their cha cha dance-off against Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec and partner Kym Johnson for two extra points.
Fourth place also represented a tie at 37 total points for Riker and Allison as well as actress Rumer Willis and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy. Riker and Allison may have lost their dance-off, but they received 37 points for their 1920s-style quickstep -- which included the first 10 of the season from Len.
Rumer and Val were the other couple in danger of elimination this week, but it was not revealed whether they were actually one of the bottom-two couples based on last week's judges' scores and home viewer votes.
Rumer and Val first took the stage Monday night with a 1960s-inspired jive routine that earned 35 points from the judges. They later won their foxtrot dance-off with a 4-0 vote against The Bachelor star Chris Soules and partner Witney Carson for two additional judges' points.
Two couples tied for sixth -- and last -- place on the leaderboard with 31 total points after both pairs lost their dance-offs.
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Robert and Kym performed a 1980s-inspired Argentine tango that received 31 points from the judges. The judges' vote was split when determining whether they should win the dance-off or their opponents Noah and Sharna. In that case, Len's vote is the deciding factor and he wanted Noah and Sharna to win.
Chris and Witney danced a 1940s-style foxtrot that also earned 31 points.
Dancing with the Stars will air its tenth-anniversary special Tuesday night at 8PM ET/PT on ABC. Next week, the couples will be forced to prepare for a double elimination.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
