Dancing With the Stars Week 8 Recap: Did the Right Couple Go Home? — Plus: Was Len’s Criticism Too Harsh?
Although it feels as if Dancing With the Stars‘ 24th season just kicked off, we’re already two weeks away from the finale — and, according to judge Len Goodman, at least one of the five remaining contestants has overstayed his welcome on the dance floor.
Though Len has always taken on a Simon Cowell-esque role in the ballroom, prone to being extra nitpicky when judging routines, the self-proclaimed “fuddy-duddy” might have overstepped his critical boundaries on Monday, after Bonner Bolton and Sharna Burgess performed an Argentine tango.
Here’s what went down: In the video package of Bonner and Sharna’s rehearsals, the pro bull rider seemed rattled by Week 8 stress, snapping at Sharna not to get mad at him when he wasn’t picking up the choreography quickly. (They ultimately pulled it together for the actual dance, even if it was the night’s most “meh” duet.)
But when it came time for Len’s critiques, he didn’t just come down on Bonner’s tango skills; instead, he basically told the novice that he didn’t deserve to be in the Top 5.
“Listen, you got frustrated,” Len began. “Please don’t blame the judges. Blame the viewers, because really, you’ve gone a bridge too far. I’m sorry, but you should have been…”
As Len trailed off from his very bold point, the crowd booed, and Carrie Ann Inaba gasped, “Len!” But he continued: “You get a happy ending. It’s just where you stop the story, and if the story goes too far, you get frustration. You’ve got two full dances to do. It’s hard work. I admire your pluck, I admire your guts, but…” (Here, he was thankfully interrupted by host Tom Bergeron, who diffused the awkwardness by joking, “By the way, that’s [Len’s] pep talk.”)
Of course, it’s been evident for weeks that Bonner is among the season’s weakest competitors — and it does seem unfair that he remains on the show when Heather Morris and Nancy Kerrigan have already been ousted. But coming from Len, whose job is to be as supportive as he is tough, that comment seemed awfully cold.
Before you tell me your thoughts about Len’s harsh words, let’s review how each couple fared with their duet:
* Rashad Jennings and pro Emma Slater (Jive): 36/40
* Normani Kordei and pro Val Chmerkovskiy (Contemporary): 40/40
* Bonner Bolton and pro Sharna Burgess (Argentine Tango): 30/40
* Simone Biles and pro Sasha Farber (Foxtrot): 36/40
* David Ross and pro Lindsay Arnold (Waltz): 36/40
The remaining contestants also performed trio dances, enlisting another member of the Dancing troupe for a routine that would add to their cumulative score for the evening. Here’s how those were scored:
* Rashad/Emma (with Witney Carson) — Argentine Tango: 39/40
* Normani/Val (with Alan Bersten) — Jive: 39/40
* Bonner/Sharna (with Britt Stewart) — Jazz: 28/40
* Simone/Sasha (with Brittany Cherry) — Paso Doble: 36/40
* David/Lindsay (with Hayley Erbert) — Paso Doble: 29/40
And now, the results:
ADVANCING TO SEMIFINALS (in order they were announced)
Normani Kordei and pro Val Chmerkovskiy
Simone Biles and pro Sasha Farber
David Ross and pro Lindsay Arnold
Rashad Jennings and pro Emma Slater
ELIMINATED
Bonner Bolton and pro Sharna Burgess
Your turn! Did Bonner and Sharna deserve to get booted this week? And what did you make of Len’s harsh criticism for the bull rider? Hit the comments with all of your thoughts on Monday’s episode.
The judges clearly don’t want Simone to win, they are actually bashing her for being too on beat now. And criticizing her for smiling too much, or not enough? It seems to be different each time. It has almost become uncomfortable to watch. The girl is not going to be your sex kitten judges, please stop bashing her for being shy. Thank you.
Exactly!
I’m sick of the judges comments to Simone also. They don’t even make sense anymore. It seems as if they’re asking her not to be her true self! I’ve really enjoyed her dancing.
Since when is this show being about your “true self”? It never has been. The whole point of this show is getting celebrities to come OUT of their comfort zone and do tings that AREN’T natural to them. And yes…ballroom dancing is about smiling.
I agree. They are very hard on her.
It makes me SO mad!!!! It’s a dancing competition!!! Judge her dancing!! She is SO amazing! It’s painfully evident that the judges don’t want her to win. All my votes go to Simone! And if David Ross makes the finals, I will scream! If Simone doesn’t make the finals, I will cry.
I do think Simone is quite good – but she really comes across clearly as what she was meant to be – an amazing gymnast, not a dancer. Having said that though, she does deserve to be in the final three, if we are comparing talent of dance movement (though she really doesn’t have good feet). But performance is part of dance – and she isn’t that strong there. It’s sound advice the judges are giving her. You may like her, but it’s just a simple fact. and PS this advice they are giving her may end up helping her adjust to life outside of the gym.
Smiling is part of dancing.
Agree. It seems nothing she does makes them happy.
WHERE is my comment?
Please unsubscribe me from your “alternate” news !!
I agree!
Hey, stop reading my mind!
Agreed
I have to agree with you and there’s a reason why Simone would not win and it’s very complicated to explain for now. Len was not favored on the trios this season, unlike last season and he’s getting more annoying than the other judges, just this time!
Absolutely. We quit watching this show 2 weeks sgo. I hope it loses ratings…
Waaahhh! Something didn’t go my way! Waahhhhhh! I hope they suffer! The WHOLE WORLD should be the way I want it at all times! Waahhhhhh!
I agree with the judges in that Simone’s dances don’t make me feel anything. She’s capable, but she brings no passion to the dances. I think they are just waiting for her to let her guard down and be raw.
Agreed. She’s really really good, but she has such a robot smile on her face when she’s performing and I just want to see her completely break out of her shell.
We know exactly who tbey want. But Simo be is grwat. What is this nonsense about not dancing like a melodrime!!
Great answer too about Gold Medals
What did she say? I missed it..
Why was it a great answer: She is not trying to WI a gold medal here. Gymnastics is pure athleticism. Dancing is about more. Smiling does not win gold medals..but it DOES help win dance competitions.
I agree she just can’t seem to satisfy them even though her dancing is spot on. Seems like they have their pick and it isn’t Simone. I am disappointed and I have watched the show for years.
I definitely agree! Each round the judges change their view. She Carr seem to make them happy. She looks wonderful on the dance floor and the audience live her. Hopefully the audience will outnumber the judges. You can see the frustration on Simone’s face and she said it “you don’t get gold medals by smiling”. It’s the work itself, and she does the work!
Len was too harsh. It wasn’t Bonnors fault that he was still on the show.
Thoughts
Normani – Amazing night. Showed she can tackled any genre and basically secured the mirrorball
Simone- I am rooting for her but she had platued for weeks. I hope she takes that passion next week and finally gets a perfect score
Rashaad – Loved his trio dance – and the team name – but he also need to work on small technical errors
David- His first dance had me crying. His best dance so far. Second dance was at least entertaining LOL
IMO, Bonnor was the correct person to be let go.
Didn’t Len say “blame the viewers”?
That comment should have been said when Max and Heather voted off! Dave is only still on due to baseball fans… Not talent. People need to vote for the best dancers or best potential. It’s a dancing TV show!! The judges keep telling Bonner to bend… Twist etc. Stupid rude judges knows he has a steel plate in his back!!! Tired of Dave playing the like me stories. Very egotistical and people fall for it.
Well they need to stop putting stars on that already know how to dance! I like to se the progress as the weeks go by!
I do not like seeing the stars look just as good as the pros on week one!
Just stupid in my opinion!
It happened before. No difference.
I’m not a baseball fan, but I like Dave and have voted for him. He is better than Bonner as a dancer,
I think Len could have said it nicer. It he said what we were all thinking. I think a Carrie Ann is being very harsh on Simone. Last season when Laurie was dancing she would often get feedback that she could connect better with Val but she still got tens for the dancing. That girl can’t even earn one 10 from anyone? I thought she was fierce for her Paso, and she was the only one who had the same gender trio partner. She did so well!! I know Normani is better but that doesn’t mean Simone shouldn’t earn 10’s too.
Yes, the criticism they gave 16 yr old Laurie for not connecting well enough to her partner was creepy and uncalled for IMHO.
Right! Bonner’s trio was almost soft core porn and too raunchy but the young girls they want to be sexier. It’s inappropriate! They should be judged fairly no matter who they are.
There have been alot more raunchier and len had no problem. He just didnt like bonner
Agree 100%.
I saw that too. What do they want from Simone? Dancing so good that they have to say no emotion. Then she shows too much smiling. Then not enough smiling. She’s a young, shy woman. They want her to be sexy and sensual. Other young female competitors were allowed to be just that. Young and refreshing. Yikes Carrie Ann showing claws…
Bonner really should’ve been eliminated sooner. Heather should’ve stayed and he should’ve been eliminated. He’s a hard worker and has a great story but when looking at actual dance talent Heather should still be in there
. suggestion: how about a “judges save” like they do on America’s got Talent? That would avoid those ridiculous voting off when it is clearly not the right choice by America….don’t make it a popularity contest!!
So there’s another commentator on this site called Teresa. Guess I should change my name to avoid confusion.
Now on to my opinion: I don’t understand why everybody was criticizing Heather for being a professional dancer, but no one says anything about Norman.
I agree with Len that Bonner should have been out a long time ago, but he should have found a nicer way to say it. There’s always a nice way to say things.
Normani is not a professional dancer, she is just in a singing group that happens to dance sometimes but they don’t do any technical dancing. I do believe she took dancing classless but only up until the age of about 14 or 15. Heather was a paid to solely dance professionally. Not critisizing Heather because she was great, but I don’t think the two are the same by any standard.
Normoni was dancing before singing! Do your research!
Then DWTS should not invite anyone that has good potential if they put down experience!!! This show is Dancing!! No matter who it is!! Judges votes are really too low sometimes! Poor Simone her whole life was taught to be perfect! She never experienced normal feelings.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you remove anyone with extensive dance training from eligibility, then you should also exclude figure skaters and gymnasts. Both receive a great deal of ballet and other dance styles. Remember Meryl Davis and Charlie White? They both did EXTREMELY well in their season with Meryl taking home the Mirror Ball Trophy. They were ice dancers which is basically ballroom dancing on ice skates. So both of them had prior training in fox trot, tango, waltz, etc. etc. etc. Yes, Heather was a dancer, but she trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary and hip hop. She did not train in ballroom.
Agree
Pussycat Doll, Jennifer Grey, Amber Riley, Jane Alexander, Mel B, Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi, Meryl Davis, Charlie White, Nastia Liukin, Evan Lysacek, Marilu Henner… And this year, to keep things more even, they had a bunch of them — Simone Biles, Normani and Heather Morris. They all had EXTENSIVE dance training. Some of them won DWTS and some of them didn’t make it very far. It has to do with age, stamina, back story, personality and whether viewers like them enough to vote for them. But if you want to complain about some of them, you better complain about all of them.
I mean, Len said what (probably) most of us were thinking, but that seemed a bit harsh! As far as I can remember, the judges have always refrained from outright implying that a contestant doesn’t deserve to be there. Even when they’re in the finals for no discernible reason (*cough* Kirstie Alley). Yes, he should have been gone before Nancy, Heather, and even Nick. But ouch, Len! Looking most forward to seeing Normani and Rashad in the finals (I hope)!
I was not thinking that all! If the show would not have picked so many so called Stars that already new how to dance because they took dance class all their lives,he would not look that bad! People need to stop voting for the experience one and Vote for the underdog !
Just a thought!!!
Heard enough of this from you already Missy.
Len was so rude and unprofessional tonight. I felt so bad for Bonner and Simone. He needs to stick to talking about how to improve . He needs off the show his time is up!
Yes I agree with you. The women judges are very critical. Why…Simone is awesome. Yeh judge from last week was out of line.
Then DWTS should not invite anyone that has good potential if they put down experience!!! This show is Dancing!! No matter who it is!! Judges votes are really too low sometimes! Poor Simone her whole life was taught to be perfect! She never experienced normal feelings.
Good Job Ivette! Time for Len to GO.
Bonner was phoning it in tonight and absolutely deserved to go. It’s one thing to be a weaker dancer than most of the competition left, but then to not even try… Also, Sharna, choreographing an oil millionaire slapping his sexy secretaries on the butt is so 1980 and really creepy.
I’m with you Jules!!! Did not like the sexy secretary thing either – and believe me I’m a wild child. But do we really need that kind of stuff right now? No!
Len was a real asshole!! He doesn’t dance all that great himself. He needs to get another job if he can’t be a decent person.
Yes
In regaurds to Bonner dance: Len you are horrible, just a nasty old man. Wr all sgree Bonner isnt a dancer, but hes trying. You so need to apologize to Bonner. Its time for you to go home Len. I have lost all respect for you..
They should have won you people are too hard on them
I think Len’s comment was disgusting and hurtful. My heart broke for Bonnet who was really trying hard.
I do believe Len has overstepped his responsibility as a judge when he throws comments that he is not there to make. Dance moves and presentation yes that is his profession but his comment about fans and their support is totally out of his hands and as a “professional ” he showed his true colors and maybe it is his turn to go.
I feel Len was very cruel. There’s no need to be that ignorant on the air. If the fans like they should be able to move on it’s part of the show. I love to see an underdog when it seems so unfair that sometimes people are professional dancers and they always win.
Agree! You should not be picked to do this show if you have massive amount of experience! This show is getting stupid!!!
Getting?!? They’ve had very experienced dancers competing against raw beginners ever since I’ve been watching. And here’s the funny part — the weak ones sometimes stick around longer than the almost-pros. The Pussycat Doll, Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi, Jennifer Grey, Amber Riley all won even though they were had tons of dance training before they got there. Mel B, Heather Morris, Nastia Luikin didn’t win even though they were much better than people who went farther.
Missy just stop, really.
I don’t think it’s fair for a dancer like Nomani to be on the show. This is suppose to be about people who don’t dance learning how.
I totally agree with you. She is a professional dancer…of course that’s why she does so well. If they want a professional dancer to compete they should have only professional dancers compete against each other…not coboys or baseball players.
The different skill levels are what make the show enjoyable. We get to see stars without experience improve(hopefully). And stars who have talent and/or experience get to share that with America by lasting to the end. (Again, hopefully that’s the way it works out.)
So agree with you! She use to complete in dance competition!
When has this show EVER been solely about people learning how to dance? Is it in the bylaws or something?
So sick of comments such comments Peggy. The show would be unwatchable. It’s a dance competition, so I expect and want to see good dancing. How many times does the show have to say that a background in dance doesn’t disqualify the star!
Bonner lasted longer than some who were way better, like nancy k. David Ross reminds me of bill engvall who survived a great deal on his personality and character.
Len needs to quit judging… he is old, crotchedy and RUDE!
He has been crotchety for years. You all know this is nothing new. Len has been a jerk and unfair most of the time and Carrie Ann always caters to favorites. I hoped and prayed for new judges many years ago but it’s not gonna happen. Len was in a good mood last week do Bonner paid the price this week. His last dance was horrible. Him wanting to slap their butts and him holding her hand til she asked for it back was creepy. He didn’t process his issues very well and you could tell his mind was a going and he wasn’t happy this week. That alone made me ready for him to go. Regardless Len needs to be told to stop throwing shade at people and the viewers.
Len truly over stepped with his comment suggesting the voters kept Bonner on too long. How rude. He owes him an apology. I personally fast forward when the judges and Erin speak. Their way too much “gab”. They’re taking the fun out of watching it. I also think it’s time for Len to leave.
I am perplexed? It seems the producers are promoting a dance competition between amateur and professional dancers. So guys like Bonner are up against pros like Marani. Of course Bonner can’t compare. But the judges slashed Bonner to pieces tonight and praised Marani ( huge sympathy vote on the first dance genre didn’t hurt her). Just once I’d like one judge to admit that Marani has a huge advantage over the rest ! Producers get your show line up in order next season- no pros as contestants.
Oops, I meant Normani, not Marani. Sorry about that.
After tonight’s show it’s too obvious that the judges are over promoting Normani, the producers are giving her extra camera time ( dancing after the scores), and she’s getting too cocky with her comments and showing a new level of exposure with unbuttoned short shorts, gyrating booty in the judges faces, and skimpy top. Tone it down Normani! Shame on you judges.
I loved having Bonner on this season, having never heard of him prior to this season of DWT. I think he was extremely kind and genuine, honestly just an all round good guy, and it didn’t hurt that he was wayyyy easy on the eyes:). Was it time for him to go home, probably so if you want it to be fair to the other contestants who are working equally as hard. Regarding Len, did his criticisms and comments go too far, I feel they did! As someone else pointed out, he is there to judge but also to encourage. I thought Lens words about Bonner actually not deserving to be here this long were unnecessary, hurtful and awkward for everyone there and watching at home. Very rude and tacky Len, shame on you this time!
What happen to just ballroom dancing! That’s what I want to see not all that stupid shaking in short shorts and boots! Heck I can do that at home in the mirror it would be more entertaining lol! This season was the worse ever! Real Stars would never do this show ever!!! Time to go bye bye!
I will agree with you about the ballroom dancing. The contemporary and jazz dances don’t belong on this show. Contemporary especially, is usually so open to interpretation that they rarely score low. This is billed as a ballroom dancing competition, it should be ballroom.
I have been a fan of “Dancing” since the beginning. I have been fed up with the judges for along time. They are unfair and dote on their favorites. Tonight was the last straw for me. Len is a hateful old man and should go back to wherever he came from
AMEN! New judges are needed.
I think Len’s comments to Bonner after Bonner and Sharna’s first dance were totally over-the-top and inappropriate. Even if one is very disappointed with the material there is a way of conveying that disappointment that doesn’t cross the line. Furthermore, saying that Bonner could blame his frustration on the viewers and definitely not the judges because he was still on the show insults the viewers too. Bonner and Sharna were among my favorites I will admit I did not seem them taking home The Mirror Ball though really that was only within the last couple weeks. There were individuals who went home before him that surprised me but I wouldn’t have said it was necessarily his time to go then— I don’t know. One gets to challenge as much as they support in order for it to be effective. I wasn’t impressed tonight.
The best dance was from Radhad . The best trio was with Rashad , Emna and Witney. Rashad and David have great personalities and they aren’t a whiner like Normani , she was trying to gain pity votes. Simone is cute but boring. It would be nice to see david or Radhad win the mirror ball trophy.
I think that one Len Goodman needs to go as a judge and David needed to go last weeek and Artim and Nancy in the semis
Has Simone been awarded the mirror ball yet? No? Okay, I’ll check back in a couple of weeks.
Length is always tough, but lordy…Cold is right. But he wasn’t the only judge handing out some rough criticism and even Simone got handed some tuff stuff. She isn’t deep enough or sad enough or happy enough..whoa. and they today David you only get one good score per nite. Yeah right..anyway ouch!