‘Dancing with the Stars 21’: Val Chmerkovskiy talks Tamar Braxton illness, recovery
There is always at least a certain element of drama on “Dancing with the Stars,” but on Monday night that element rose to a whole new level after it was revealed that Tamar Braxton had been hospitalized. She has been battling pneumonia, and while rehearsal footage had to be shown for her first performance, she did manage to make it back in time to perform her duo routine at the end of the show. She received a solid 27 for the routine, which is great given the circumstances.
While we won’t know until Monday whether or not she has the scores needed to continue in the competition, we do at least know that she has a good chance thanks to her story, her history as a great dancer all season, and also what we know about her fan base. For her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, he made it clear after the show that the only thing that he was really concerned about was her own safety. Here is what he had to say in a new interview with E! News:
“I don’t really care about things that aren’t important at the moment and at the moment for me the priority was Tamar’s health and the situation. I’m not trying to hear critique on a dance that was done with her half conscious and caused her to be in the emergency room at the moment. For me that’s not what is important. I’m just happy that she was alright and she was able to come back and finish out the show. She’s a trooper.”
Given our personal belief that Nick Carter and Bindi Irwin are virtually locks for the finale at the moment, we’re starting to think that the showdown next week will be between Tamar, Alek Skarlatos, and then Carlos PenaVega to emerge. Maybe Carlos can get the support of his wife’s fans and find a way to stay safe for a while longer, but nothing is altogether confirmed. All we know is that if Tamar does go home, we don’t want her illness hurting her scores to have anything to do with it.
Head over here to get our take on all of the routines from this past “Dancing with the Stars” episode. Also, sign up here to get some other great TV news sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)