Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy Speak Out After Shock 'Dancing With the Stars' Elimination

In one of the most shocking eliminations in recent Dancing with the Stars history, actress Jenna Dewan and two-time mirrorball champion Val Chmerkovskiy were ousted from Season 35 during Tuesday night's live quarterfinals, igniting fierce viewer backlash after being eliminated despite posting near-perfect scores from the judges.

The elimination occurred at the conclusion of the show's "Grammy Night" broadcast. Dewan, who began her professional career over two decades ago as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, delivered an electrifying jazz routine to Jackson's Grammy-winning anthem "All for You." Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli awarded the couple 28 out of 30 possible points, and a subsequent dance-off victory pushed their nightly total to 30 points.

However, when co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough combined the judges' scores with overnight viewer votes, Dewan and Chmerkovskiy found themselves plunged into the bottom two and ultimately eliminated in seventh place, falling just short of next week's anticipated semifinal showdown.

Official ballroom competition scoring and behind-the-scenes clips from Dancing With the Stars (@officialdwts) on X

Speaking out Wednesday in an emotional joint video shared with fans, Dewan acknowledged feeling "bummed out" by the sudden exit but expressed immense gratitude for her partnership with Chmerkovskiy and the creative joy of returning to the dance floor.

Dewan also directly addressed the intense social media discourse that shadowed her entire run on the show, where vocal critics frequently argued that her background in commercial jazz and hip-hop gave her an unfair advantage over celebrity contestants without prior dance experience.

"There was a lot of online noise throughout this journey, and at times it was heavy," Dewan said. "Ballroom is an entirely different discipline with technique, posture, and frame that I had never studied. Val pushed me every single day to learn it authentically. I am so proud of every performance we created, and no elimination takes away what we built out there."

The unexpected departure triggered a torrent of outrage on social media, with fans and ballroom commentators accusing the show's voting mechanics of penalizing genuine excellence in favor of reality-television drama. Many West Coast and international viewers reported persistent technical errors and server timeouts when attempting to submit SMS text votes during the live voting window.

Chmerkovskiy vigorously defended his partner's dedication, praising her resilience and humility in the rehearsal studio. "Jenna worked harder than anyone could ask for," Chmerkovskiy stated. "She handled everything with unmatched grace. This is a sad result, but she will always be a champion in my book."

The episode also saw fellow pro dancer Jenna Johnson—Chmerkovskiy’s wife—perform a high-energy jive despite nursing a broken nose suffered in rehearsal earlier that week, illustrating the intense physical stakes as the remaining six couples advance to the semifinals.

8:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 10, 2026: DWTS Season 35 airs its live "Grammy Night" quarterfinals. 9:15 p.m. EST: Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy dance jazz to Janet Jackson's "All for You," scoring 28/30 from the judges. 9:45 p.m. EST: The couple wins their dance-off round to reach a 30-point cumulative score. 9:55 p.m. EST: Alfonso Ribeiro announces Dewan and Chmerkovskiy are eliminated in 7th place based on viewer voting tallies. Nov. 11, 2026: Dewan and Chmerkovskiy release post-elimination video addressing online scrutiny and thanking supporters.

Reporting on the Dancing With the Stars elimination is corroborated by network broadcast scoring, talent statements, and entertainment news reporting:

• The Hollywood Reporter
• TV Insider
• TheWrap
• Parade Magazine
• Dancing With the Stars on X

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