Erin Andrews is not here for the social media trolls criticizing her for her reaction to Hannah Brown being crowned the Dancing With the Stars Season 28 champion. When some DWTS fans took to Twitter to attack the co-host for not reacting ecstatically when Brown and pro partner Alan Bersten’s names were called, Andrews clapped back.
“Give me a break. YOU CAN’T WIN IN THIS SITUATION,” Andrews responded to a fan who wrote that she “looked less than impressed with the outcome.” Some even went as far as to call Andrews “unprofessional” for her reaction.
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“I’m standing next to the couple that just got second place. And if I had cheered, you’d be killing me for going against Kel, Lauren and Ally,” she continued. “Not that serious people!”
In a second tweet, she told another Twitter user (who eventually deleted their tweet at Andrews) that “in this day and age, we can’t say a thing. You’ll get killed no matter what. I have to look dead into the camera [because] people are threatening you don’t like a contestant. Sad, taken the fun out of it! Cheers!”
When Andrews’ DWTS co-host Tom Bergeron announced Brown and Bersten as the winners, Andrews made an effort to appear unbiased, as she was standing immediately next to the couple who lost, Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson. While Bergeron, who was standing next to Brown and Bersten, congratulated the winners, Andrews consoled Mitchell and Carson, telling them she loved them.
Brown’s win was surprising, but didn’t come as a complete shock, as she had the voting power of Bachelor Nation behind her. The 25-year-old entered the reality dance competition fresh off her season of The Bachelorette.
Brown told Entertainment Tonight that she thought her name was being called as the runner-up of the competition.
“I’m in complete shock. When they said our names, I thought it was for the runner-ups, so I don’t think I even know how to process how I feel right now,” she said. “But I’m super thankful for the experience. Even the hard times, the fans just stuck it out with us. I cried a bit earlier today, but I just felt a sense of peace come over me because I knew that I gave it my all … I’ll probably cry later when it actually sinks in.”
Mitchell said losing out on the crown was “all good” and that he “had a blast.”
“Hey, it’s still a win!” the All That star told ET. “It’s all good. We had a blast, it was super fun and it was an awesome journey. No sad faces, we’re good!”
“Of course I wanted to win,” he continued. “I wanted to win, I wanted us to get that win, but it’s OK. I feel like it’s a win for us.”
It’s unclear when DWTS will return for its 29th season; the show typically returns for a spring season, although 2019 was the first year it did not air any type of competition in between fall cycles.
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