Honestly, staying on top of the revolving door of exits on Dancing with the Stars is basically a full-time job. One week you’re crying over a touching waltz, and the next, your favorite couple is standing in the "bottom two" under those harsh spotlights, looking like they've seen a ghost. If you missed the latest episodes or just need a refresher on the carnage of Season 33, here is the breakdown of who was eliminated on DWTS and why the leaderboard didn't always save the people you’d expect.
The Final Heartbreak: Who Missed the Mirrorball?
Let’s get the big one out of the way. By the time the Season 33 finale rolled around in late November 2024, the competition was a pressure cooker. We had five couples left—a rarity for the show.
Danny Amendola and Witney Carson were the ones to fall first on finale night. They ended up in fifth place. Despite Danny being a literal Super Bowl champion, the transition from the turf to the ballroom floor is a beast. He had the athleticism, but in a season filled with ringers and fan favorites, the votes just didn't stack up against the heavy hitters.
Then things got real.
The beloved "pommel horse hero" Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold took fourth place. This one stung for a lot of people. Stephen and Rylee were the internet's darlings. They had that viral energy that usually carries people to the win, but his growth plateaued just a bit in the semi-finals. He was incredible to watch, but against the technical precision of the top three, he couldn't quite hurdle his way onto the podium.
Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong landed in third. This was probably the most controversial "elimination" of the night for the technical purists. Chandler was, by almost every metric, the best dancer of the season. She was pulling 9s and 10s while others were still figuring out their footwork. But DWTS is rarely just a dance competition; it’s a popularity contest, and she couldn't outpace the Bachelor Nation surge or the Olympic momentum of the top two.
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The Shocking Mid-Season Exits
If you go back a few weeks, the list of who was eliminated on DWTS gets even more chaotic.
Take Dwight Howard. The man is a giant. Seeing him try to do a Rumba was both impressive and, at times, a little bit like watching a skyscraper try to do yoga. He and Daniella Karagach were sent home in Week 8. He’d actually improved a ton, but social media was pretty vocal that it was his time. He’d survived a few close calls, but the fan vote finally ran dry.
Then there was the Jenn Tran drama. This was the one that had people throwing their remotes. Jenn, fresh off The Bachelorette, was eliminated in Week 7 (Halloween Nightmares Night). She had just received her first 10! She won her dance-off! On paper, she should have been safe. Instead, she was sent packing while others with lower scores stayed. It was a classic "don't forget to vote" cautionary tale.
The Full List of Season 33 Eliminations
If you need the quick "who went home when" list, here it is in all its messy glory. No fancy charts here, just the facts:
- The Early Exit: Anna Delvey and Tori Spelling were the first to go in a brutal double elimination during Week 2. Anna’s presence was controversial from the start—let's be real, the ankle monitor was a choice—and Tori just couldn't find her groove in the Rumba.
- The Legends' Departure: Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts left in Week 4. We all loved Reggie (who doesn't love Carl Winslow?), but he physically struggled to keep up with the pace of the show. It got to the point where they were allegedly scheduling commercial breaks just to give him time to get off the stage.
- The Model and the Housewife: Brooks Nader was eliminated in Week 5. Her "showmance" with Gleb Savchenko was the talk of the season, but it might have actually turned off some voters who prefer the focus to stay on the dancing. Phaedra Parks followed her in Week 6 after Disney Night. Phaedra had the personality of a winner, but the leaderboard was just too crowded at the top.
Why the Leaderboard Often Lies
A common mistake fans make is looking at the judges' scores and assuming the person at the bottom is definitely who was eliminated on DWTS. That is almost never how it works.
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The show uses a 50/50 split between judges' points and viewer votes. If you have a massive following—like Ilona Maher, who finished as the runner-up—you can survive a "low" night. Ilona was the perfect example of this. She wasn't always the most polished dancer, but her message of body positivity and her massive TikTok presence made her untouchable until the final moments.
Joey Graziadei, our winner, had both. He had the Bachelor Nation army behind him and he actually became a legit dancer. By the finale, his freestyle (which featured a tennis-themed routine, naturally) was so clean it was hard to argue with the result.
Actionable Steps for Next Season
If you're tired of seeing your favorites get the boot, you have to play the game.
First, don't wait for the episode to end to vote. The window is usually open only during the live broadcast for the Eastern and Central time zones. If you’re on the West Coast, you’re often voting "blind" based on the previous week or social media clips.
Second, use both platforms. You can usually vote 10 times via text and 10 times on the ABC website. If you aren't maxing out those 20 votes, you can't really complain when a shocker happens in the ballroom.
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Third, watch the "un-elimination" episodes. DWTS has started doing these "no elimination" nights—like the Season 33 semi-finals—where everyone is safe. It builds drama for a massive culling the following week. Keep an eye on those combined scores; they are usually the best indicator of who is actually in trouble.
At the end of the day, Dancing with the Stars is a soap opera with sequins. Whether it’s a con artist in sparkles or an NBA star trying to salsa, the eliminations are rarely about the best feet—they're about who captured the heart of the living room audience.
Next Steps for DWTS Fans
To stay ahead of the curve for the upcoming season, make sure you have the official ABC app downloaded and your account verified at least 24 hours before the premiere. This prevents those annoying "login expired" errors during the 10-minute voting window. Additionally, follow the "DWTS Troupe" on social media; they often post rehearsal leaks that give you a better idea of who is actually struggling with their frame before the live show even starts.