Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Divisive Dancing with the Stars season 31 makes emotional first elimination

It's ballroom time!

dwts week one elimination
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
Share this:

Dancing with the Stars kicked things off strong with a power-packed and explosive season 31 premiere episode.

MORE: Exclusive: Amanda Kloots shares who she's rooting for on latest Dancing with the Stars

The show returned for its history-making season on the Disney+ streaming platform, becoming the first live streamed show on the platform.

VIDEO: Dancing with the Stars season 31 cast

While the same judges, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Len Goodman, returned, there were more changes to be seen.

Along with a few returning pros and a revamped set, host Tyra Banks was joined for the first time by a new co-host, the winner of season 19, Alfonso Ribeiro.

MORE: Carrie Ann Inaba divides fans with fashion conundrum before DWTS premiere

In the first instalment, however, there was a bit of sorrow as one couple became the first eliminated of the season, that being the pair of Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd.

The duo performed the cha-cha-cha and received mixed to negative critiques from the judges, ultimately resulting in a score of 18 out of 40 and unanimously losing the judges' save.

View post on Instagram
 

Jason was the first eliminated contestant of the season

The judgments were also paired with a cacophony of boos on several occasions, though, due to the stricter scoring and harsher critiques for relatively strong performers.

The premiere episode also established an early frontrunner among the 16 celebrity and professional pairings, that being TikTok sensation Charli D'Amelio.

MORE: Here are the contestants for Dancing with the Stars season 31

MORE: Beloved DWTS pros unexpectedly depart show just weeks before premiere

Joined by returning pro Mark Ballas, they danced the cha-cha-cha to Savage, getting rave reviews from the judges for her technical ability. 

They were scored a 32 out of 40, the highest of the night and enough to make them an early favorite moving forward.

View post on Instagram
 

Charli established herself as the frontrunner with the night's highest score

Other strong performers from the night were Wayne Brady and Witney Carson, picking up their own strong 29. While on the other side of the leaderboard were Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki, the lowest scorers of hte night, along with Teresa Guidice and Pasha Pashkov, who were in the bottom two alongside Jason and Peta.

Read more HELLO! US stories here

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.