It was the most emotional semi-finals in the history of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.  Five couples were in the running and by the end of the two-hour broadcast on Monday night, one would be eliminated.

But no one expected it to go the way it did in a shocking and heartbreaking turn of events.  Considered by many the top frontrunner to take the Mirror Ball Trophy, former Dawson’s Creek star, James Van Der Beek, announced in tears during the broadcast that his wife, Kimberly who was pregnancy with their sixth child, miscarried over the weekend.

But things got even more painful from there.  In an attempt to make the finals next week each duo had to perform a “redemption dance” chosen by the judges as the worst dance from their season, followed by a new routine.

Van Der Beek and his pro partner, Emma Slater performed a Cha-Cha which did not go over well with the judges, causing them by the end of the night to be the lowest scoring couple on the leaderboard.  But it was before his second dance that Van Der Beek shared the news of his his wife’s miscarriage.  He then danced an emotional tango in her honor.

At the end of the episode after three couples were saved it, was between Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber being eliminated … or James and Emma  The judges had to make the horrific decision of who would stay and compete and who would be sent home.

Photo: ABC

Across the board the judges chose Ally and Sasha.  What followed was pure shock in the audience.  Then, Ally Brooke broke town in tears pleasing for the judges and the producers to give her spot to Van Der Beek in the finals

“Can I give it to James, please?” Brooke expressed through her tears.  Van Der Beek would not allow her to do that and the show went off the air with co-host Erin Andrews, judge Carrie Ann Inaba and the viewers in America, in sadness.

Van Der Beek took to his Twitter account to thank those who supported him and his family during their difficult time following the loss of their unborn child: “Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. There are no words… thank you everyone for the love & support. It’s exactly what we need.”

So, what did you think of the turn of events that saw James Van Der Beek exit Dancing with the Stars on the heels of the news of his wife’s miscarriage? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

In a shocker on Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars, former NFL all-star Ray Lewis and his pro partner, Cheryl Burke, were no longer competing for the Mirror Ball trophy

At the top of the show, host Tom Bergeron revealed that “an old injury flared up” for Lewis, which is why he wasn’t able to dance and appear in the opening number. Cue the taped video package: where it illustrated that Lewis tore three tendons in his foot and would need to undergo surgery.  Lewis revealed that he first tore a tendon in his foot in a football game in 2010, and never thought he’d have to ever deal with the medical issue again.

Prior to the show last night, both Burke and Lewis had posted cryptic messages on social media.  Lewis shared: “Don’t get me wrong — I understand the grind — the effort and commitment it takes is unparalleled,  But when you finally level up what else will be left? Did you cut off your friends and family or sacrifice your mental health. Make time for what matters. Take care of yourself. Mind, Body, and Spirit. #NoExcuses.”

Photo: ABC

While Burke shared an image of herself alone backstage expressing: “Deep thought courtesy of upcoming live show.”

Former DWTS champion Rashad Jennings stepped in last minute to dance a Cha Cha with Burke to the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”

Lewis then shared after the show: “Not the ending I had hoped or worked for but that mirror ball wasn’t in the plans for me. I can’t say thank you enough for the support and love. Injuries have never stopped me before and certainly not now. I’ll be back doing the squirrel dance soon enough.”

Burke hopes she can still be part of the season telling US: “ I’d actually love to be a mentor to these couples. We all need guidance.  We all need a third eye. What we did for Juniors in a way, I’d be there for anyone who wants help or anyone who wants someone to watch their dance and give an opinion. I’d also like to help out with the music department a little bit.”

So, what do you think about Lewis and Burke’s exit? Should Cheryl somehow be able to get back in the competition with a different celeb? Comment below.

Controversy already erupted upon the announcement on Wednesday of the cast of the new season of Dancing with the Stars.  Most intriguing is that a statement from the longtime ABC series, host, Tom Bergeron revealed his hopes to the producers that their celebrity casting choices would be non-political in nature, especially after the ballroom dance competition had been on a year hiatus from the small screens.

Following the celebrity contestant reveal, which included former White House Press Secretary. Sean Spicer (who worked for President Donald Trump), the host released a statement via his Twitter account.  In it, Bergeron noted that he’d had lunch with the show’s new executive producer and had suggested some ideas for the show. Chief among them was that DWTS should avoid casting someone with “ANY party affiliations.”  When he left that lunch, Bergeron says he was convinced that would be the case.

Bergeron expressed: “It was my hope that ‘DWTS,’ in its return from an unprecedented year-long hiatus, would be a joyful respite from our exhausting political climate and free of inevitably divisive bookings from ANY party affiliations.”  Then he said, “Subsequently (and rather obviously) a decision was made to, as they often say in Hollywood, “go in a different direction”.  He went on to say, “It is the prerogative of producers, in partnership with the network, to make whatever decisions they feel are in the best long term interests of the franchise. We can agree to disagree, as we do now, but ultimately it’s their call. I’ll leave it to them to answer any further questions about those decisions.”

DWTS new EP Andrew Llinares, then said in a statement. “We’ve got a great and diverse cast. We are excited about the season,”

You can see Bergeron’s tweet in full below.

Some thoughts about today pic.twitter.com/aCQ4SHrGCI

— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) August 21, 2019

So, what do you think of Bergeron’s hopes for the casting choices of DTWS?  Would you have preferred Sean Spicer to be cut from the cast?  Who would you have liked to have seen cast on the series? Would you want any celeb you like to even go on it any more? Comment below.