Later, gator. The 12 remaining contestants on season 19 of Dancing With the Stars dwindled down to 11 during the Tuesday, Sept. 23 live results show.
As in previous seasons, the judges' scores from Monday evening's "My Jam Monday!" were only one component of the elimination formula: Viewers' votes were also factored in with the official markings from judges Julianne Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli.
Back to the Future star Lea Thompson landed the top score on Monday night, after her impressive jive to Wilson Pickett's "Land of a Thousand Dances" with pro Artem Chigvintsev, for which she earned a 35 out of 40.
The lowest-scoring contestant in week two was Michael Waltrip, who received a score of 24 out of 40 possible points with his partner Emma Slater. Waltrip's samba to Lee Brice's "Girls in Bikinis" was "wild and wacky," according to Goodman, but not enough to warrant strong marks.
Three contestants — Tavis Smiley, Betsey Johnson, and Tommy Chong — also tied as low scorers in Monday night's performance round, each receiving 28 points. Johnson, who was left humiliated in DWTS' premiere on Sept. 15, showed the biggest improvement. "Last week was a night to forget. Tonight was a night to remember," Goodman said of the designer's performance to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Lucky for Johnson and her partner Tony Dovolani, who together rounded out last week's bottom two duos, the partners were saved in the first ten minutes of the results episode. Joining the pair were Thompson and Randy Couture, leaving 10 competitors unaccounted for.
Joining Johnson in the bottom bracket on Monday was fan favorite Chong, also one of the oldest competitors on the show. Hough praised Chong's salsa to Gloria Estefan's "Higher" as "effing fabulous," while Tonioli quipped: "Age is a state of mind." Indeed, America thought so too.
Chong and his partner Peta Murgatroyd were declared safe 30 minutes in to the live show, as were Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker. Other pairs who were announced as safe included Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy, Bethany Mota and Derek Hough, Antonio Sabato Jr. and Cheryl Burke, and Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson.
Not all dancing pairs could say the same: Waltrip and Slater were told that they were in jeopardy following their samba from the previous night, as were Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas for their jazz routine to Jason Aldean's "She's Country."
Smiley blamed his busy schedule for his mediocre performance to Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland." Goodman remarked on Monday: "I know you've had a tough week. Unfortunately, it showed a bit."
Viewers, ultimately, thought so, too: Smiley was sent home, leaving Robertson and Waltrip in the safe zone. "The art of dancing I absolutely love," Smiley said, saying his book tour was the main reason why he could not focus on the arduous rehearsals and preparation expected of contestants. "It's been a wonderful experience," he concluded.
Tell Us: Do you think Smiley deserved to be sent home?
