Jimmy Kimmel is sharing his reaction to sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez’s elimination from Dancing With the Stars.
“This is an outrage,” Kimmel, 58, told Rodriguez, 55, and dance partner Witney Carson during Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, October 13, after the pair were voted off DWTS season 35. “Will you accept the results, or will you take legal action?”
Rodriguez quipped, “I think we should take legal action,” while Carson, 32, added, “I think so too. Absolutely. I’m ready.”
Carson and Rodriguez danced the salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” for Super Bowl Night on Tuesday. The routine earned the pair a score of 22 out of 40 — their highest yet — and their first-ever score of six from judge Carrie Ann Inaba.
Despite the improved score, Rodriguez and Carson were eliminated after not receiving enough viewer votes to remain in the competition.
During Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel praised Carson for her “absolutely incredible” choreography this season.
“The situations you put Guillermo in … really, really impressive. I mean, honestly, you have taken this lump of Play-Doh and you sculpted him into a masterpiece,” the late-night host quipped. “Guillermo, did you achieve what you set out to do? … And, um, what did you set out to do?”
Rodriguez replied, “Jimmy, I said I was going to lose weight, and I did lose weight.”
“You lost weight and you gained a pregnant friend,” Kimmel joked, referring to Carson, who is five months along in her pregnancy with baby No. 3. (Carson currently shares sons Kevin, 5, and Jet, 3, with husband Carson McAllister.)
Rodriguez’s five-week run on DWTS drew controversy among fans, as some believed he did not show enough improvement over time to continue on the show. He and Carson also frequently received low scores from the judges, including an all-time low of 10 out of 30 points.
Amid the backlash, Carson has repeatedly jumped to her partner’s defense.
“Anytime I sit down he keeps rehearsing,” she wrote over a TikTok video on September 26. “Truly working so hard! I’m so proud and I am so blessed to have the kindest partner ever.”
Carson also previously shared a controversial take on DWTS as fans argued about whether Rodriguez should have continued on the show.
“This is not a dance competition,” she said in a video shared via her Instagram Stories on September 16. “Yes, of course, us pros take pride in, like, making the best dance possible, and we want our celebrities to become better. If it were truly a dance competition, every single celebrity would come into the competition with the same level of dance experience.”
She added, “So it isn’t fair, and that’s the point. The point is to vote for your favorite, and that’s why the voting system is in place. So, just wanted to give my two cents. Remember, it is [to] vote for your favorite. If you love to watch dance and you love to watch good dancing, that’s what you’re gonna vote for.”
