After forgetting her dance on Monday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, Chynna Phillips received the lowest amount of votes and was eliminated from the competition on Tuesday night. You can watch her last dance, below.
Once she learned she would be leaving, she expressed disappointment in her performance but explained she was grateful that Tony as a partner, because he forgave her for screwing up and was very understanding.
However, Phillips apparently had more to say about her elimination because yesterday she spoke with The Huffington Post and said, “It really does come down to the votes. And that’s kind of sad because it’s supposed to be a dance competition, but it’s actually a popularity contest, which makes me kind of sad. You know, you have to have a little bit of faith that there are people out there who are truly voting for their favorite dance, not their favorite person, because it is a dance competition and people are working really hard. It would be very sad if that was undermined, and it looks to me like that keeps getting undermined.”
Now, it’s hard for me to react to this statement calmly because I want to disregard it as just something a sore loser said, but I’ll do my best. I guess the most basic criticism I can offer about her words is that it’s funny how she maintains the show is a popularity contest without realizing her own elimination proves the show operates like a dancing competition. As previously stated (and shown), Phillips blanked on the moves to her dance almost entirely, and so it makes sense why viewers didn’t vote for her. If the show were a popularity contest like she claims it is, people would’ve found a reason to keep her on the show that had nothing to do with her dancing (like because her song was featured in Bridesmaids or because she is married to a Baldwin). But the fact she forgot the moves and was eliminated signifies how the celebrities’ dances are actually pretty important and truly do influence the way the audience votes. It’s just humorous she doesn’t realize that this past week, the worst dancer was cut… which is exactly what happens in a dancing contest.
One could also argue Phillips’ explanation of her elimination is also a pretty significant dig towards Chaz Bono’s participation on the show, because Chaz repeatedly receives scores that put him at the bottom of the leader board — but he’s never up for elimination because he has such a such a strong following. Whether or not Phillips’ words were a subtle commentary on Bono’s dances is unknown, but either way it’s clear her grace doesn’t leave the confines of the dance floor.
Source: HP
