‘Dancing With the Stars’: Xochitl Gomez Experiences Concerning Injury Following Performance

Dancing With the Stars competitor Xochitl Gomez pressed on after suffering an injury during Monster Night in the ballroom. The 17-year-old Marvel star and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy earned a 37 out of 40 for their contemporary performance to “Game of Survival” by Ruelle, but their high scores came with concern from the audience as Chmerkovskiy picked up his partner at the end of the routine to carry her off the dance floor.

Even judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough, as well as guest judge Niecy Nash, inquired as to whether or not the teen was OK, and Dancing With the Stars host Alfonso Riberio stepped in to assist in stabilizing her. Chmerkovskiy held up the bottom of Gomez’s dress while getting their scores, showing that it seemingly was covered in blood, but the actress insisted she was “great” and that she and her partner would be taking to the dance floor for the “Monster-thon” marathon dance later in the evening.

She soon took to her Instagram Story to reveal the source of her injury, sharing a video of getting bandaged up backstage. “Got scraped up climbing the altar but they fixed me up and we’ll see you for the dance marathon!” she assured viewers. Gomez did return for the marathon dance, fighting through her injury to earn five extra points with her performance. 

At the end of the night it was Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold, Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater, and Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber who were determined to be in danger of being eliminated. Ultimately, it was the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills husband and Slater who were sent packing following their score of 31 out of 40 for an Argentine tango to “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell.

That means Gomez and Chmerkovskiy will return for another week in the ballroom, during which fans will likely hear more about what went down on Monster Night and how it will affect Gomez in rehearsal. Chmerkovskiy previously told PopCulture.com that Gomez has risen to every challenge he’s given her so far in the competition, calling himself “very confident” that she’ll be able to perform to a high level week after week. As for Gomez, the star told PopCulture she’s having “such a freaking blast” competing. “I think I went into this expecting that with everything great, there’s always something that takes a little out of you,” she said last month. “[But] this is the funnest thing ever! I come to set, everyone’s so nice. I just want to be friends with everybody.” Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.