‘Dancing With the Stars’ Eliminated Duo Juan Pablo Di Pace, Cheryl Burke Say They Deserve a Spot in the Finale

Dancing With the Stars frontrunner Juan Pablo Di Pace and pro partner Cheryl Burke had a few not-so-subtle jabs at the voting system that sent them home in the semi-finals despite earning two perfect scores for their performances.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight following their elimination Monday, the two weren’t shy about their feelings, with the Fuller House actor saying, “I mean, you know, we wanted to go to the finals. At least the finals. I think we did [deserve to go to the finals].”

They theorized that maybe their fans didn’t think they needed the at-home vote as much as the other couples due to their consistently high scores from the judges, with Di Pace also throwing a little shade at the people who did vote for contestants who were significantly worse at dancing, like country radio personality Bobby Bones, whose highest score all season has been a 24/30.

“I think that we worked so bloody hard to get here, and also put on a show every Monday to wow, maybe that’s not what people want to see,” Di Pace said. “Or maybe they got comfortable?”

Burke also added that fans could have been giving their votes to someone who started off as a worse dancer than Di Pace and progressed, rather than his dominant season.

“It depends what happens,” she said. “People may want to see somebody with two left feet all of a sudden become a dancer. I don’t know, it’s different for everybody.”

When Di Pace and Burke were eliminated in favor of model Alexis Ren and pro partner Alan Bersten, Bones and pro partner Sharna Burgess, Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch and pro partner Keo Motsepe, and Zombies actor Milo Manheim and pro partner Witney Carson, even the judges spoke out against the shocking twist.

At the time of the elimination, Len Goodman told the boo-ing audience, “Listen, I know the American people would like fair play, but mostly we like justice. And there’s no justice here.”

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba later said on social media, “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. You guys need to vote please.”

She continued in a second video, “OK, I’m still on 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?”

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: ABC