Zendaya Isn’t the Only ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Contestant to Be a Gracious Loser Despite Dominating the Competition
The best dance routine doesn’t always win on Dancing with the Stars. There have been contestants that put up near-perfect runs, sweeping the judges, yet still found themselves sent home. That’s the nature of the DWTS elimination system, which weighs grades from both judges and the viewers at home. An example of this is Zendaya’s infamous ejection from the show. She was arguably one of the best contestants to ever appear on the show. But she’s not the only one to both find herself unfairly eliminated, and to handle it with grace all the same.
Many viewers still think Zendaya should have won her season of ‘Dancing with the Stars’
When Zendaya and partner Val Chmerkovskiy found themselves eliminated during the 16th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2013, their fans were shocked. From the very first episode, the pair earned near-perfect scores. Somehow, that wasn’t enough to win it all.
The Things reports that Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy turned in one of the best performances in the history of the show for that year’s finale. Their routine remains one of the fan favorites from the entire run of DWTS. However, the nature of the show’s voting system — with its viewer involvement — ended her run in the biggest moment.
The Mirror Ball Trophy went to country singer Kellie Pickler, instead. While the votes are meant to represent the will of the viewers, clearly there was a disconnect with many of the most vocal fans. To this day, both longtime DWTS viewers and Zendaya’s fans insist that she should have won. For Zendaya’s part, she handled her exit graciously.
Simone Biles handled her shocking elimination with grace
Simone Biles had another gracious, controversial exit from her season of DWTS. The superstar gymnast was always confident in front of the judges during her all-timer of a run, though.
The Olympic gold medalist was famously told to smile and emote more during her otherwise flawless routines. She reminded the judges that smiles don’t win gold, winning them over with her confidence. But it didn’t save her from an untimely elimination.
With four couples remaining, Biles and partner Sasha Farber were in the elimination half. When the viewer vote went against the gymnast, the judges couldn’t hide their dismay, People reports. But Biles accepted her loss cleanly, congratulating her competition and promising to return the following week as a spectator.
Willow Shields held back her shock when her ‘DWTS’ elimination was announced
Hunger Games actor Willow Shields was 14 years old when she competed in the 20th season of DWTS. She was the youngest competitor in the show’s history — and, to this day, considered one of the best. Unfortunately, she placed far lower than her run suggested, at seventh overall.
Her first routine, a Cha-Cha-Cha to “Lips Are Movin,'” was her lowest score at 25. From there, she continually ran right up to the line of perfection. With partner Mark Ballas, she was quickly seen as a favorite to win it all.
Until she abruptly didn’t. The judges gave her a 9, 9, 9, and a 10 for her incredible Week 7 performance. Her Jazz and Salsa routines were everything judges and many fans thought would be an easy pass to the next round. But things didn’t go her way.
“I was shocked,” Shields told Hollywood Life. “In some ways it proves that it doesn’t always come down to dancing, because we were getting great judges’ scores.” On-screen, though, viewers saw her accept defeat like any average contestant might, as she gave no hint of her inner turmoil.
