Fans aren’t the only ones upset over Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke’s surprise elimination from Dancing With the Stars Monday night. Candace Cameron Bure, Di Pace’s Fuller House co-star who finished in third place on DWTS‘ 18th season, sided with judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who went on a post-show rant on Instagram.
Bure reposted Inaba’s Instagram Story videos going off about Di Pace’s elimination. “OK so I just walked in the door from the semi-finals of Dancing With the Stars, and I have to say I’m very disappointed with the outcome. Juan Pablo and Cheryl should be in the finale next week,” Inaba said firmly in the first video, scolding viewers for not sending enough votes Di Pace’s way. “You guys need to vote, please.”
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In another video posted to her Story, Inaba continued voicing her disappointment. “OK so I’m still on it about it, but it’s like, how do you go home in the semi-finals when you’ve been the highest scorer and you just got a perfect 60?” she asked.
Di Pace and Burke were the show’s most consistently high-scoring couple, having earned their first perfect 30/30 during week 3’s Halloween Night and continuing to earn high marks throughout the rest of the season, culminating in a perfect 30/30 for both of their dances Monday night.
“I can’t even… – I mean, I don’t even know what to say- I wrote a book on kindness and there’s nothing kind about what I have to say about tonight’s results on @dancingabc #DWTS,” Bure captioned her repost of Inaba’s videos.
She continued, writing that she’d never been so outraged by an elimination in the show’s history. “As crazy as I felt when [Cheetah Girls’ Sabrina Bryan in season 5] and [actress Heather Morris in season 24] were prematurely eliminated, tonight’s show topped it!!!! Are you kidding me?! [Juan Pablo Di Pace] and [Cheryl Burke] are not in the finals?!!!!!”
She concluded her post with a threat: “@dancingabc – I may have to stop watching you.”
Bure and Inaba aren’t alone in their outrage. They joined the voices of many fans who protested the elimination, with some even demanding a recount of the votes.
Head judge Len Goodman even made an emboldened statement during Monday’s live show after the results were announced. “Listen, I know the American people would like fair play, but mostly we like justice,” Goodman said. “And there’s no justice here.”
Di Pace took to Twitter a few hours after the show ended and thanked fans for their support. “Thank you so much for the outrage :)” he wrote. “all I’ll say is I’ve had the time of my life DANCING and I’m so glad you guys recognized that! At the end of the day I got to do what I love.”
On Instagram, he took to his Story, posting a black screen with just a single word: “#heartbroken.”
But if Di Pace felt cheated, he didn’t show it. During the final seconds of the episode, he graciously accepted his fate. “I just love dancing so much, and at least I got to do it in front of millions of people with this beautiful girl,” he told host Erin Andrews, referring to Burke.
Along with Di Pace, The Bachelorette star Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and partner Jenna Johnson were also eliminated Monday night, having earned consistently low scores throughout the season.
With Di Pace and Amabile out of the running, that leaves model Alexis Ren and partner Alan Bersten, country music personality Bobby Bones and partner Sharna Burgess, Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch and partner Keo Motsepe, and Disney Channel star Milo Manheim and partner Witney Carson left to compete for the mirrorball trophy.
The Dancing With the Stars finale airs Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.