Dancing with the Stars fans are furious over a third-place finish for a couple who got a perfect score

Season 33 of Dancing with the stars came to an end on Tuesday (November 26th) and crowned the previous one Bachelor Star Joey Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson as winners.

While fans were happy to see Graziadei – who got a perfect score (30) for his freestyle dance and a near-perfect score (29) for his redemption dance – win the show’s coveted Mirrorball trophy, they were also upset about coming third Place. Space for Disney star Chandler Kinney and partner Brandon Armstrong. Kinney and Armstrong had perfect scores in both performances that night.

Before the final, three pairs competed against Graziadei and Chandler: Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, who came second; Olympic gymnasts Stephen Nedoriscik and Rylee Arnold, who placed fourth; and NFL star Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, who finished fifth.

To start the evening, all the couples performed a group dance to Madonna’s 1980s hit “Holiday.” Previously eliminated stars like Anna Delvey, Tori Spelling, Eric Roberts and Jenn Tran also joined.

The finalists were then asked to perform both a redemption dance in the style assigned to them by the judges and a freestyle dance.

For Graziadei’s Redemption Dance, he cha-chaed to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” and for his free dance, he performed to “Canned Heat” by District 78 ft. Jake Simpson.

Meanwhile, Kinney performed the jibe at “APT.” by Rosé & Bruno Mars for their redemption dance. Kinney and Armstrong made history when they became the first black couple to reach the show’s finale. To mark the occasion, their freestyle ensemble consisted entirely of black dance professionals to honor those who came before them. Kinney received a consistent 10 points for both performances, making her final score a perfect 60 points.

Despite being one of the competition’s top dance talents, Kinney placed behind Graziadei and Maher, who received 59 and 57 points respectively – and fans weren’t happy.

“I’m watching America fail again when it comes to voting for the deserving and overqualified black candidate,” one person tweeted, comparing Kinney’s loss to Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the 2024 presidential election.

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While the judges’ scores are important to each couple’s overall ranking, fans’ votes are also taken into account.

“The only thing I learned in November is that America hates seeing a woman win,” wrote a second, and a third agreed: “America is afraid of strong women but we’re not ready yet.” for this conversation…”

A fourth felt conflicted by the results, writing: “I explained how happy I am for Joey while simultaneously balancing it with my anger at Chandler but also making it clear that I don’t hate Ilona and this “I would never hate you in the truest sense of the word, because that’s my opinion.” Girl.”

Another called it “an absolute waste of a season” and wrote: “Chandler and Brandon were clearly at a higher level than everyone else, and yet they come in third? Not first, not even second, but THIRD???”

After his win, Graziadei said: “It means everything. This experience was honestly incredible. Everyone from the beginning. Ilona, ​​​​you were great this season. I love you. All finalists and jurors thank you for your understanding. I did my best, I promise. Thank you very much.”

With another season of DWTS Behind Us, viewers may be wondering when they can expect the Season 34 premiere. However, the answer to this is complicated as the hit ABC series has not yet been officially renewed.

But there’s no need to worry, because a new edition of the popular dance competition, which saw a boom in ratings this season, is usually not announced until the following year. And considering the series will air for its 30th time in 2025, this is likely DWTS will do something to celebrate the milestone.