'DWTS': 'Little Women: LA' Star Terra Jolé Eliminated in Semifinals
Next week's finale will feature a fierce, four-way battle.
— -- Reality TV star Terra Jolé won’t be going to the finals of “Dancing With the Stars,” but she went out on a high note tonight after delivering two flawless performances that landed her at the top of the leaderboard.
Jolé is one of the stars of “Little Women: LA,” a reality show that follows the lives of women with dwarfism. She grew emotional when she learned she was being eliminated just one week ahead of the season 23 finale of the ABC program, and thanked her pro partner, Sasha Farber, for being “extremely supportive” throughout the season.
“I wouldn’t be here without Sasha,” she said.
Jolé earned two perfects scores tonight -– 30 point each for her rumba and tango.
Next week’s two-night finale will feature four-way battle among IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, “Pretty Little Liars” actress Jana Kramer and former NFL player Calvin Johnson Jr.
Jolé’s Journey
Jolé joined the show three weeks after giving birth, and while she expressed some trepidation early on about being vulnerable and appearing different, her confidence and technical skill on the dance floor earned her strong support from viewers and kudos from the judges.
“The movement, the fluidity, your hips, honey, oh my God, you’ve got them going ... it was just right,” judge Bruno Tonioli told her tonight after her rumba. “I have to say something, my darling, for everybody. We really admire you. You show us (that) with determination and the right frame of mind you can achieve anything.”
Elimination is based on a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes. Jolé received the lowest combined total of judges’ scores and viewer votes from her performances on last week’s show.
Before the results were announced, the five celebrities and their pro partners each performed in two rounds of fierce competition: first, a couple’s routine, followed by a trio performance that included a second pro dancer.
The Judges’ Scores (1st dance, 2nd dance. Total)
Laurie Hernandez and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: 30; 30. Total: 60
Terra Jolé and Sasha Farber: 30; 30. Total: 60 (They were eliminated tonight.)
James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess: 29; 30. Total: 59
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko: 28; 30. Total: 58
Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold: 26; 30. Total: 56