‘Dancing With the Stars’: Another Favorite Sent Home After Hectic Elimination

Dancing With the Stars was forced to say goodbye to yet another celebrity on Monday night. At the end of the night, Monica Aldama and Anne Heche found themselves in the bottom 2. Ultimately, after the judges shared who they wanted to save, Heche was given the boot. Before their decision, there was a minor error towards the end of the episode that sent the celebrities and judges alike in a tailspin. Banks originally named Aldama and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy as safe for the week. However, she later clarified that the pair were in the bottom-two alongside Heche and her partner Keo Motsepe and had to call them back onto the stage to find out whether they would be continuing in the competition.

This latest elimination comes one week after DWTS held its annual Disney night. But, unlike Disney nights of seasons past, the episode ended with one celebrity going home. Actor Anne Heche, with partner Keo Motsepe, and Tiger King star Carole Baskin, with partner Pasha Pashkov, found themselves in the bottom 2. Baskin, who was at the bottom of the leaderboard after three weeks in the competition, ended up being the one sent home.

Following her time on the ABC series, Baskin, and Pashkov, went on Good Morning America to speak about their experience on the program. “I’m so thankful to have had this opportunity and it will be hard to leave the Dancing With the Stars crew — and especially Pasha,” Baskin said. “He has been so wonderful.” The Netflix personality went on to say that she has no regrets about being on the show specifically because she was able to raise awareness for causes that are close to her heart. She explained, “I think all of the awareness that is raised from this has been wonderful for the cats. That’s been my main reason for being here is to try and end the cub petting and the private possession of big cats.”

Baskin further explained her appreciation for the spotlight that DWTS gave her in a guest blog post on Entertainment Tonight. In her blog, she took time to highlight executive producer Deena Katz, whom she said was adamant about casting her. “She took a big risk inviting the world’s most-hated character onto the show, but she did it because she saw through the misogyny and saw me for who I am,” Baskin wrote for the publication. “She offered me the show’s platform as a way to set the record straight and put the spotlight on saving big cats from abuse and extinction.”