"DWTS" Week 4 Recap: Is This the 2017 Academy Awards Or…?
We’ve officially made it to week four of this season of “Dancing with the Stars,” and apparently, that’s how long it took to arrive at the season’s biggest mishap (so far). And before you get #stressed, no, it wasn’t a COVID-related mishap. We’ve had enough of those this week.
The confusion was surrounding this week’s elimination, which got a little messy and a lot reminiscent of the 2017 Academy Awards “Best Picture” announcement. But before we get to that, we have a lot of amazing dancing to discuss. In case you missed last night’s episode (or were too busy stalking Claudia Conway on TikTok) we rounded up the highlights.
Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson: Rumba
There’s nothing we love more than a man who can confidently dance a rumba to Celine Dion dressed in an all-lilac outfit. That’s on non-toxic masculinity, folks! And the fact that Nev dedicated this dreamy rumba to his wife? The cherry on top of a near-perfect performance. The judges gave Nev and partner Jenna Johnson three 8s, for a total score of 24.
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev: Viennese Waltz
Calling all bunheads: Is it just us, or does Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe appear to have some ballet training? Because we were absolutely blown away by her graceful, Grace Kelly-esque Viennese waltz last night. This performance was all old Hollywood glamour, and we couldn’t get enough of it. The judges gave Kaitlyn and Artem two 8s and the season’s first 9 (!) for a total 25.
Skai Jackson and Alan Bersten: Foxtrot
We loved watching the ever-gorgeous Skai Jackson perform a tribute to her close friend and former co-star Cameron Boyce, who passed away last year. Skai’s foxtrot with partner Alan Bersten was gorgeously simple and simply gorgeous, bringing even the judges to tears. Skai and Alan received two 9s (!) and the first 10 (!!) of the season, for a well-deserved 28 total.
But here is where the night got weird, and veeery evocative of the 2017 Oscars. (In case you don’t remember, 2017 was the year of the infamous “Best Picture” envelope mixup snafu.)
Here’s a brief summary: Monica Aldama and partner Val Chmerkovskiy were initially called safe, and exited the stage. But only moments later, host Tyra Banks announced that there had been a mixup—and Monica and Val were actually in jeopardy, alongside Anne Heche and partner Keo Motsepe (much to the confusion of everyone onstage). The magic of live television, apparently?
The judges were asked to decide who would be dancing another week—and opted to save Monica and Val. And TBH, we think they owed it to the pair after that rollercoaster of an elimination.
