Did ‘Bachelor and Bachelorette Nation’ turn out in droves to ensure their gal, Hannah Brown took home the Mirror Ball on Monday night’s season finale of Dancing with the Stars?  Well, during the final night of competition, Brown and her pro dance partner, Alan Bersten had their best performances to date, which could have also swayed the nationwide vote.

Whatever the case, the season 28 finale had Brown besting runner-up Kel Mitchell, and before that Ally Brooke and Lauren Alaina who wound up in 3rd and fourth place, respectively.

Brown looked stunned as host Tom Bergeron announced her and her partner as the winners.  It was just a week ago, she had a tearful confrontation with judge Carrie Ann Inaba over what she felt was an undeserved tough critique of her dance moves.

Following last night’s show, Inaba told US Weekly on the decision of Brown for the crown: “It’s not what I expected. But this whole season has been filled with ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns. I think, always, the right person wins on Dancing With the Stars because it’s a collaborative vote between the judges’ scores and the audience. And what the audience says is very important and we honor it.”

Watch the former beauty queen’s crowning Mirror Ball moment below.  Then let us know, did the right celebrity win the competition? Share your theories in the comment section.

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.