‘Dancing with the Stars’: Should the Judges Have Eliminated Matt James During Disney Villains Night?
The Bachelor star Matt James is out of the running on Dancing with the Stars Season 30. Thanks to the show’s new process of eliminating contestants, many DWTS fans are questioning James’ elimination. Should the Bachelor Nation star still be part of the season 30 competition?
‘Bachelor’ star Matt James is eliminated from ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 30
The first double elimination of the season took place during the Dancing with the Stars Oct. 12 episode. Contestants rounded out the Disney Week spectacular with performances inspired by some of Disney’s most infamous villains.
In the end, Beverly Hills 90210 star Brian Austin Green and his girlfriend/pro dance partner Sharna Burgess were eliminated from the competition. Then, it came down to James and Real Housewives star Kenya Moore.
Dancing with the Stars recently made changes the way eliminations happen. Previously, eliminations based on judges’ scores and audience votes. But now, the judges can choose to save a couple from elimination.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ elimination process
Once the bottom two are determined, the judges vote on the couple they wish to continue competing. If the first three judges don’t agree, head judge Len Goodman casts the deciding vote.
During season 30’s Disney Villains Night, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba voted for James to stay. Derek Hough voted for Moore, which meant Goodman made the final decision. “Kenya, you’re staying on the show,” Goodman told Moore, causing her to fall to the floor.
‘DWTS’ fans don’t understand Len Goodman’s involvement in Matt James’ elimination
When you remove Goodman from the equation, that leaves three judges to vote on who to save. Therefore, it’s impossible for the voting to tie. Many Dancing with the Stars fans are confused about this new elimination process, especially after Disney Villains Night.
“Confused about the judges save,” a fan tweeted. “If Matt got two votes and Kenya got one, how did Len’s one vote save Kenya?? (Not that I think Matt deserved to stay over her, just very confused).” Many other fans felt just as confused about the elimination process.
During the first two eliminations of the season, Inaba, Hough, and Tonioli were unanimous in deciding who to save. Disney Villains Night presented the first time the judges were divided this season. It seems the rule is if there isn’t a unanimous decision among the three judges, Goodman steps in to make the final choice.
Bachelor Nation upset with Matt James’ elimination from ‘DWTS’
While many fans are confused about Dancing with the Stars’ elimination process, others are more concerned with James getting sent home. Considering how many Bachelor Nation stars have succeeded on DWTS, many fans thought James could go all the way in season 30.
“WOWWWW I did not expect Matt James to be going home so early!” one fan tweeted. “I was surprised Matt James was send packing last night,” said another user on Twitter. “It is now evident that #BachelorNation has NO love for him as they do for other alumni.”
With Green and James eliminated, these are the contestants who remain on DWTS Season 30:
- Olivia Jade and Val Chmerkovskiy
- JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson
- Suni Lee and Sasha Farber
- Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten
- Mike “The Miz” Mizanin and Witney Carson
- Melanie C. and Gleb Savchenko
- Jimmie Allen and Emma Slater
- Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach
- Kenya Moore and Brandon Armstrong
- Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke
Watch new episodes of Dancing with the Stars Mondays at 8 PM EST on ABC.
