‘Dancing with the Stars’ 18: Billy Dee Williams exist competition, citing back pain

“Dancing with the Stars” is short another celebrity, and this is one that many probably saw coming. After suffering from chronic back pain that has limited his rehearsal time severely the past few weeks, Billy Dee Williams made the decision during this episode to withdraw from the competition.

Had the “Star Wars” legend stuck around, would he have been able to move on to the next round? It seems doubtful, given the fact that his scores were so low to begin with. The sad news is for his partner Emma Slater, who took an unlikely contestant in Bill Engvall to the finale last fall. Hopefully, during the next season Emma will get an opportunity to work with someone who can match her level of athleticism on the floor. She hasn’t really got that opportunity just yet.

Thanks to the fact that Billy Dee went home, there was no elimination on the show the rest of the night. That allowed us to have a real chance to actually sit back, relax, and then enjoy the rest of the dancing. There was some pretty great dancing the rest of the night, too, including some people gaining “10” grades from the judges. Guest judge Robin Roberts was also on hand, willing to give out big scores … even if there is really nothing at all in her bio that says she has any sort of dance experience at all.

Are we going to miss Billy Dee on the show the rest of the way? Sure, from a nerdy point a view. But after watching the show, there is no doubt that the best contestants are the ones that are still in the running.

Are you surprised that Billy Dee left the competition? Share some of your thoughts below, and head over to the link here if you want to dance your way to more updates on all we covered via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ABC