Dancing with the Stars 24: Should Nancy Kerrigan have went further?

It’s now been over 15 hours since the elimination of Nancy Kerrigan from Dancing with the Stars this season, but it’ll take some time to digest. This is especially true for the famed skater herself and her partner Artem Chigvintsev, who were expected by many to advance to the semifinals.

Going into this season, we made a case that four out of the top five should be women, with Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater being the one exception. Now, we’ve only got two women participants left in Simone Biles and Normani Kordei — luckily, both are serious contenders to make it to the finale and potentially win the whole thing.

Nancy of course seems glad for the experience and grateful in most of her exit press; her partner Artem, meanwhile, was a little more explicit. Speaking to E! News, he had the following to say about the departure of one of the strongest celebrities he’s been paired with on the American version of the show:

“I wish we could’ve gone further, I feel like Nancy deserved to go further in the competition. It’s sad because she’s got so much more to offer…It came as a bit of a shock, I did not expect that.”

There’s an interesting trade-off when it comes to these Dancing with the Stars eliminations. Often when they happen, it’s fairly easy to label the show “rigged” or suggest that the wrong person went home. Sometimes, the latter is true. If the show was “rigged,” however, we foresee many seasons in the past ending in different results. This is a popularity contest, and you have to remember that over the notion of it as a real measurement of dancing talent. Also remember for a moment here that Bonner Bolton and David Ross are both contestants with a significant following in the midwest, the part of the country where there are probably the most casual fans of the show. They see something in these two that they like, which is why they are both probably there over Kerrigan and Nick Viall, a guy who, while inconsistent, actually performed better in his most-recent solo performance than either Bonner or David.

Also, remember that we’re arguing over position. If someone wasn’t getting the votes now, odds are they weren’t winning in the first place. That even applies to Heather Morris, who clearly had a smaller fan base that did not perfectly coalesce with the scores she was getting.

Be sure to share any further thoughts you have on Nancy’s departure from the show now in the comments.

Meanwhile, you can head over to this link in the event you want some additional news right now when it comes to the show. (Photo: ABC.)