Dancing with the Stars eliminated Geraldo Rivera and his pro partner Edyta Sliwinska during Monday night's broadcast on ABC.
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The political correspondent and former The Celebrity Apprentice runner-up received the lowest combined total of judges' scores and home viewer votes following last week's premiere episode. Geraldo and Edyta finished at the bottom of the judges' leaderboard for the first two weeks of the Season 22 competition.
"[Edyta] is fabulous and patient and talented and charismatic, and if I didn't get eliminated tonight, I would've demanded a recount," Geraldo said with a big laugh following his ouster.
The other two couples who were in the bottom three with Geraldo and Edyta and therefore in jeopardy of elimination were retired NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and partner Karina Smirnoff as well as former The O.C. star Mischa Barton and partner Artem Chigvintsev.
Monday night's broadcast featured all 12 celebrity and professional pairings each performing a hot and sexy Latin routine.
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Two couples tied for first place on the judges' leaderboard: Boyz II Men member Wanya Morris and partner Lindsay Arnold as well as UFC fighter Paige VanZant and partner Mark Ballas. However, Mark injured his back during rehearsal so Alan Bersten, a DWTS Troupe member and tenth-season So You Think You Can Dance contestant, filled in for him.
The two pairs topped the leaderboard when they each earned 24 out of 30 points from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
Wanya and Lindsay danced the salsa, as did Paige and Alan. An MRI and bone CT scan will reveal Tuesday whether Mark can return to the dance floor next week, but Alan called his opportunity on the DWTS stage a "dream come true."
Third place also represented a tie between two couples, who each received 21 points from the judges. Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin and partner Keo Motsepe took the stage with a samba routine, as did Good Morning America meteorologist Ginger Zee and partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
Four pairs tied for fifth place on the judges' leaderboard Monday night with 20 points.
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Doug and Karina danced the paso doble, Donald Trump's second ex-wife Marla Maples and partner Tony Dovolani performed the Argentine tango, America's Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco and partner Peta Murgatroyd took the stage with the rumba, and NFL player and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and partner Witney Carson danced the cha cha.
NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown and partner Sharna Burgess tied for ninth place at 19 points on the leaderboard with The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Fields and partner Sasha Farber. Antonio and Sharna danced the rumba, while Kim and Sasha performed the salsa.
Mischa and Artem landed in eleventh place on the judges' leaderboard after receiving only 15 points for their cha cha routine.
Geraldo and Edyta fell into the bottom spot -- twelfth and last place -- on the leaderboard with only 13 judges' points after they took the stage with a salsa routine.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski