Johnny Weir Slams ‘Dancing With the Stars’ as a ‘Popularity Contest’

After two dances from each team left during the Dancing With the Stars semi-finals, two couples were sent home at the end of the night. The couple with the lowest combined scores and votes was Johnny Weir and Britt Stewart, meaning they did not have a chance to be saved by the judges.

Visibly upset, Weir and Stewart walked off the stage without having time to get any comfort from the judges or the host before the judges decided to save Justina Machado and Sasha Farber over Skai and Alan Bersten.

After the episode, Weir and Stewart talked to Us Weekly and other reporters about their loss. Weir felt that the show was more of a popularity contest than it was a testament to skills.

Weir Says He Feels Like ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is a Popularity Contest

During the comments to the press, Weir opened up about what it was like to lose and why he felt like he was eliminated over the other couples left in the competition.

“It hurts a lot because it definitely feels like a popularity contest more so than a dance contest but that’s part of it,” he said. “I knew what I was signing up for. I can say wholeheartedly that I would always prefer to be myself than be popular.”

He said that if fans take one thing away from his time on the show, it’s to be true to themselves rather than to their followers.

Weir is Proud of Being Himself

Weir said that even though he didn’t win, he was happy to have been authentically himself throughout the competition rather than pretend to be someone he is not.

“I think so many people out there base their whole lives around how many followers they have or how many friends on Facebook they have or how popular they are at school or whatever the case may be,” he started. “I just want to send the message out there to always be authentically yourself – people will like it, people will hate it, but be yourself and that’s the best you can do.”

He added, “I think that’s a message that I’ve reinstalled in myself in this competition, and I’m so proud that we always did our thing. We always did what we felt was right and what we wanted to and I have no regrets from this competition.”

They were definitely voted out by America rather than by the judges. The couple had scored a total score of 57/60 from the judges, which did put them near the top of the leaderboard. With so few competitors left, though, it really comes down to America’s choice.

“Hopefully, Johnny will find solace in knowing he left on a really high note,” DWTS judge Derek Hough told Us Weekly after the episode. “He left with grace and a really great performance.”

Bruno Tonioli agreed, adding that Weir was very good technically and worked beautifully, improving throughout the season.

“And what he did, he remained himself and he performed the way he believed he should have and that is a very, very important stand,” Tonioli said. “And if only two or three people believe in that and are touched by it, it’s a great achievement regardless if you got kicked out.”

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

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