'Dancing With the Stars': Margaret Cho Sent Home for Samba

Oct. 6, 2010 — -- Comedian Margaret Cho, who was eliminated from "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday night after a heartfelt samba, said she's proud of her performance.

"It's a very difficult thing to dance and to present yourself in this way," Cho, 41, said on "Good Morning America." "What I'm so happy about is we got to have a moment to tell our story and to be ourselves and I'm so proud of that."

It was an emotional exit for Cho, 41, who cried when she and professional partner Louis van Amstel became the third couple to be voted off "Dancing With the Stars." Their samba to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" garnered a score of 18 out of 30, the lowest total of the week.

The contestants were required to tell a story through their dances this week. Cho, an advocate for equal rights, performed in a yellow headdress and fringy dress bearing the colors of a gay pride flag, and told the story of a gay coming-out party.

"Our story was serious. It's a tough time for the gay community. A lot of gay teenagers have committed suicide. We want this to end now," she said after the performance.

On "GMA," Cho said the dance was really about pride. "When I was a young person I felt so overweight, I wanted to die," Cho said. "We want to impart that message of pride to all kids out there."

While the judges lauded her message, they were less than thrilled with her technique.

"I praise you for waving the rainbow flag," judge Bruno Tonioli told her after her performance, "but I think you lost your way out of the Copa. You had too many drinks, my darling."

During the judging, Cho called her dance "the gayest thing that's ever happened."

Upon being voted out, perhaps alluding to the poor reviews of her intentionally comic dance from week 1, where she got caught up in the trails of a gold fan that she wore as a cape, Cho said, "I thought the judges were really hard on me, but I think you were hard on me because you could see I am a dancer for real."

Even though she got the ax, Cho said she leaves with no hard feelings.

"We are rooting for everyone. Everybody is great," she said. "I'm so proud to be a member of this amazing club. It's a phenomenal cast."

Nine couples remain in the competition, including actress Jennifer Grey of "Dirty Dancing" fame; reality TV star Audrina Patridge; singer R&B/pop singer Brandy; former NBA champion Rick Fox; actress and author Florence Henderson; Kyle Orlando Massey, star of the hit Disney Channel program, "Cory in the House;" Bristol Palin, a teen abstinence activist and daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino of the reality TV show "The Jersey Shore," and NFL Superbowl champion Kurt Warner.

Audrina Patridge and partner Tony Dovolani danced their way to the top of the leader board this week, earning an impressive 26 for their waltz.

Meet the Remaining 'Dancing With the Stars' Cast:

Brandy

Brandy is a platinum-selling R&B and pop singer, actress, songwriter, and record/television producer. In 1994, at the age of 15, Brandy released her eponymous debut album, which sold more than 6 million copies. Following a major success with "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with singer Monica that spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B performance by a duo or group. The accompanying album, "Never Say Never," in 1998 sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. A series of hit CDs followed, including "Full Moon," "Afrodisiac" and "Human," bringing the star's sales to more than 30 million records to date. While maintaining a recording career, Brandy also gained fame as an actress, starring in several film and TV projects, including the popular UPN sitcom "Moesha" (1996-2001), the 1997 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," "Double Platinum," a miniseries co-starring Diana Ross, and the movie "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer." Brandy has also been spokesmodel for Cover Girl, Candies Shoes, DKNY, Sketchers Shoes and Ultima/Kaneka brand by Brandy. Her civic and charity interests include the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Norwood Kids Foundation, which supports music and the performing arts in public schools. She is currently filming season two of the hit VH1 reality show "Brandy and Ray J: a Family Business" in which she stars and is executive producer. She is also in the studio recording a new CD for release in 2011.

Rick Fox

Three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, actor and producer Rick Fox has appeared in a number of film and television projects, sharing the screen with actors ranging from Whoopi Goldberg to Henry Winkler to Angela Bassett and Shia LeBeouf. Fox's acting debut came in 1994 in William Friedkin's "Blue Chips." Similar roles followed in 1996's "Eddie" and 1998's critically acclaimed "He Got Game" (directed by Spike Lee) before Fox's breakout role on the hit HBO series "Oz." Since then, Rick has appeared in more than a dozen network shows, including "Ugly Betty," "One Tree Hill," "The Game" and "Dirt." In addition, Fox has appeared in numerous films, including "Resurrection," "Holes," "Mini's First Time" and Tyler Perry's "Meet The Browns." While Fox continues to strengthen his craft, he's just as busy behind the camera, developing his own film and television projects for his production company, 1744 Entertainment. As a star basketball athlete, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was coached by the legendary Dean Smith. Fox began his pro basketball career when he was drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics as a first round pick. He went on to be the captain of both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was coached by 11-time champion Phil Jackson. Fox is a father of two and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Grey

A beloved actress of both film and television, Jennifer Grey is best known for her starring roles in the iconic movies "Dirty Dancing" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Grey starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the award-winning, box office hit "Dirty Dancing," which is widely considered one of the best dance movies of all time. Some of Grey's other films include Ben Affleck's "Bounce," "Red Dawn" and "The Cotton Club." Grey starred in the television sitcom "It's Like, You Know …" and has made memorable television appearances on such shows as "Friends," "John From Cincinnati," "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and an upcoming episode of the medical drama "House." She has also starred in various television movies, including "A Case for Murder," CBS's "The West Side Waltz" and a Lifetime original movie "Road to Christmas." Jennifer is the daughter of Tony and Academy Award winner Joel Grey, and resides in Los Angeles with her husband, actor-director Clark Gregg, and daughter.

Florence Henderson

Florence Henderson is a multi-talented actress, talk show host, recording artist, author, Broadway veteran and philanthropist. Her career is as active today as when she first appeared as the "Today Girl" on "NBC's Today Show" and was the first woman to host "The Tonight Show." Henderson has appeared on such popular prime-time programs and made for television specials as the critically acclaimed movie of the week for Hallmark titled "Ladies of the House" and the popular RLTV Network's "Florence Henderson Show." She will always be best known in syndication worldwide as "America's Favorite Mom" and matriarch Carol Brady, on the classic hit TV series "The Brady Bunch," which aired for five seasons (1969-74), has never been off the air in this country and currently airs in 122 countries around the world. Acknowledged as one of the top leading spokespeople in the United States, Henderson has been a celebrity spokeswoman for Oldsmobile, Tang, Polident, Rain Soft, Pepsi Light and Wesson Oil. She maintains a busy schedule as one of the country's most popular and sought-after motivational speakers as well as performing her one-woman show, "All the Lives of Me ... A Musical Journey." Her first stage role was in Joshua Logan's musical "Wish You Were Here," and shortly thereafter she was cast in Rodgers & Hammerstein's last national tour of "Oklahoma!" Henderson's long list of stage credits includes the starring role in "The Great Waltz" for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, the starring role in "Fanny," the lead role of Maria in "The Sound of Music," the lead in "The Girl Who Came to Supper," the role of Nellie Forbush in Noel Coward's "South Pacific" and the starring role of Anna, opposite Ricardo Montalban, in "The King and I." Her first feature film credit was in "The Song of Norway." As a producer and a talk-show host, her credits also include the Nashville Network's cooking and comedy series "Country Kitchen." The experiences inspired her to write a cookbook, "A Little Cooking, A Little Talking and a Whole Lot of Fun."

Bristol Palin Hits the 'Dancing' Floor

Kyle Massey

Kyle Orlando Massey stars as Cory Baxter in Disney Channel's No. 1 hit sitcom, "Cory in the House," Disney Channel's first spinoff. He originated the role of Cory in Disney's "That's So Raven," the first show in Disney's history to produce more than 100 episodes. For his work on "That's So Raven" and "Cory in the House," he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. In addition to appearing in numerous commercials, he starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie, "Life is Ruff." He has a recurring role on the animated series "American Dragon: Jake Long" and sings the main title theme songs on "Cory in the House," "Yin! Yang! Yo!" and performed the title track for Walt Disney Pictures' "Underdog." Currently, Kyle is starring as the voice of Milo on the Disney Channel's upcoming animated series "Fish Hooks." For his prowess in golf, he won first place in the National Minority Junior Golf Tournament in 2003. Kyle has participated in several celebrity golf tournaments, placing third in a recent White House Golf Tournament. Together with his brother, Christopher, Kyle has worked on projects to benefit the charity organization Feed the Children and traveled to Africa for the network prime-time television special "Eyes on Kenya." They have also performed their rap music in "Heroes Among Us: the 2009 Hero Awards" and in MyNetworkTV's "The Spirit of Christmas." Currently, they are co-hosting and starring in the comedy series "World's Funniest Moments."

Bristol Palin

Bristol Palin, former first daughter of Alaska, entered the national spotlight when her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was selected to be John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Bristol Palin traveled the country, alongside her mother, father and siblings, on the campaign trail. After giving birth to her son Tripp, and becoming a single teen mother in 2008, Palin became a spokeswoman for the prevention of teen pregnancy and other teen issues. As an advocate, Palin wanted to share her story with other teens who may one day face a similar situation. Palin also acts as teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy. As part of her campaign, Palin recently guest-starred as herself on an episode of ABC Family's teenage drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Palin resides in Alaska with her son and family.

Audrina Patridge

After starring in six seasons of the hit series "The Hills," Audrina Patridge has joined the ranks of young Hollywood as one of the most sought-after and talked about talents on television. Patridge, who aspired to become an actress from a very early age, has been honing her skills with well-regarded coaches and private acting classes. She made her debut on the big screen last fall in the thriller "Sorority Row." Other film credits include the action-adventure film "Into the Blue 2" and "Honey 2." Patridge has also tested her hand at comedy, appearing on an episode of the sitcom "Do Not Disturb" and in a skit for "MAD TV." Last summer, Patridge made headlines steaming up TV screens in a commercial for Carl's Jr. This July, she became the latest Bongo girl, shooting the fall advertising campaign with famed photographer Tony Duran.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

Mike Sorrentino is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's emerging talents. Born in Staten Island, N.Y., and raised in Manalapan, N.J., he is known for starring on the hit show "The Jersey Shore," now in its second season on MTV. He graduated from Manalapan High School and went on to college in New Jersey, where he graduated in 2004. After graduation, he tried his hand at personal training, fitness modeling and soon after was scouted for an upcoming reality show that would eventually become "The Jersey Shore." The popularity of the show caught fire, becoming one of the highest rated shows in MTV history and made "The Situation" into a pop culture phenomenon. As "The Jersey Shore" continues in its success, Sorrentino continues to gain in popularity -- nationally and internationally. He was nominated this year at the Teen Choice Awards for "Choice TV: Male Reality Star." His upcoming projects include a book, "Here's the Situation," which will be on store shelves Nov. 2, a vitamin line with nationwide store GNC, which launches in the fall, and a fitness DVD, which comes out in December.

Kurt Warner

Kurt Warner is the first quarterback to participate in "Dancing With the Stars." In 1999, he emerged from obscurity to lead the St. Louis Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. That same year, Warner was named the NFL and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. As the ringleader of the Greatest Show on Turf, he led the Rams to two additional playoff appearances, including another Super Bowl, and received Pro Bowl honors for three consecutive years (1999-2001). He also earned his second NFL MVP in 2001. Injuries led Warner to move from the Rams to the Giants, and finally the Arizona Cardinals in 2005. In 2007, he led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl berth, was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl and surpassed several Cardinals' franchise records, including touchdowns, attempts, completions, completion percentage and passer rating. Warner's gridiron accomplishments pale in comparison to the dedication he devotes to the community. In 2001, Kurt and his wife Brenda established the First Things First Foundation, a nonprofit public charity dedicated to affecting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put first things first. Warner was born and raised in Iowa and played college football at the University of Northern Iowa. He lives in Arizona with his wife Brenda and seven children.

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