Dancing with the Stars fans fume over third-place finish for couple who landed perfect score

Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars came to a close on Tuesday (November 26), crowning former Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson as the winners.

While fans were happy to see Graziadei — who landed a perfect score (30) for his freestyle dance and a near-perfect score (29) for his redemption dance — win the show’s coveted Mirrorball trophy, they were simultaneously left upset over the third-place finish for Disney star Chandler Kinney and partner Brandon Armstrong. Kinney and Armstrong landed perfect scores on both performances that evening.

Going into the finale, there were three couples competing against Graziadei’s and Chandler’s: Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, who came in second; Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoriscik and Rylee Arnold, who came in fourth; and NFL star Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, who came in fifth.

To begin the night, all the couples performed a group dance to Madonna’s 1980s hit “Holiday.” Formerly eliminated stars like Anna Delvey, Tori Spelling, Eric Roberts and Jenn Tran also joined.

The finalists were then asked to perform both a redemption dance in the style assigned to them by the judges, as well as a freestyle dance.

For Graziadei’s redemption dance, he completed the cha-cha to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” and for his freestyle, he performed to “Canned Heat” by District 78 ft. Jake Simpson.

Meanwhile, Kinney performed the Jibe to “APT.” by Rosé & Bruno Mars for her redemption dance. Kinney and Armstrong made history as the first Black couple to reach the show’s finale. To mark the occasion, their freestyle ensemble consisted of all Black dance pros as a celebration of those that came before them. Kinney was awarded 10s across the board for both performances, leaving her final total at a perfect 60.

Despite Kinney being one of the top dance talents in the competition, she placed behind both Graziadei and Maher, who earned 59 and 57 respectively — and fans weren’t happy.

“Me watching America fail again at voting for the deserving and overqualified black candidate,” one person tweeted, comparing Kinney’s loss to Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss in the 2024 presidential election.

While the judge’s scores do matter to each couple’s overall place, fan votes are also factored in.

“The only thing I learned during the month of November is the usa HATES to see a woman win,” a second wrote, with a third agreeing: “America fears strong women but we aren’t a ready for that conversation yet…”

A fourth felt conflicted by the results, writing: “Me explaining how happy I am for Joey while simultaneously balancing it with how angry I am for Chandler but also making it clear that I’m not and would literally never hate on Ilona bc that’s my girl.”

Another called it “an absolute waste of a season,” writing: “Chandler and Brandon were clearly at a higher level than any of the others, and yet they come in third? Not first, not even second, but THIRD???”

Following his win, Graziadei said: “It means everything. This experience has been unbelievable, honestly. Everyone from the beginning. Ilona, you have been amazing this season. I love you. All the finalists, the judges, thank you for bearing with us. I tried my best, I promise. Thank you.”

With another season of DWTS behind us, viewers may be wondering when they can expect season 34 to premiere. But the answer to that is complicated as the hit ABC series has yet to officially be renewed.

Not to worry, though, because a new edition of the popular dance competition, which saw a boom in ratings this season, typically isn’t announced until the following year. Plus, given that 2025 will mark the show’s 30th year on air, it’s likely DWTS will do something to celebrate the milestone.