Warning! The following contains spoilers from Dancing with the Stars’ Season 30 episode “Week 5: Grease Night.” Read at your own risk!
Dancing with the Stars Season 30 threw a real curveball during the elimination phase this week, as two truly unexpected celebrity contestants found themselves in the Bottom 2. The judges voted whether Melanie C and Gleb Savchenko would remain in the competition or Olivia Jade and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The votes were so close that it came down to judge Len Goodman breaking the tie as the head judge and giving Jade and Chmerkovskiy another week to fight. The two will stay in the game, but the fact it was so close raises some interesting questions about Jade’s future in Season 30.
Great dancers have bad nights sometimes, but this wasn’t the case for Olivia Jade. The Dancing with the Stars competitor put on a show on Grease night and got a 36/40 for her stunning performance of “Summer Nights.” The score was better than four other teams that evening and tied with four of the other teams. Basically, Jade’s Bottom Two situation didn’t result from an off night and came from a clear lack of fan support.
It’s a shocking turn of events, as Olivia Jade had been comfortably safe while others in Dancing with the Stars Season 30 went home, and she didn't even land in the Bottom 2 before the Grease number. Now the tide has turned, and competitors like Cody Rigsby and Iman Shumpert, both of whom historically score lower than Jade, were safe this week. In fairness, Melanie C also consistently outperformed those guys, which is part of what made the night’s elimination so hard on the judges. The lower-scored performers are now fan-favorites, and a better team went home as a result.
If this is a trend and not a fluke, Olivia Jade’s chances of winning aren't the best. She didn’t get the votes this week for safety, and what’s worse, she didn’t have a worse competitor beside her for the judges to unceremoniously send home. It’s hard to say the vote would swing her way again if put in that position again against someone like Suni Lee or Melora Hardin. Basically, she needs the support of fans in order to see the end of this competition and potentially win, but will that happen?
It’s a difficult question to ask because it’s hard not to think Olivia Jade’s lack of support results from the controversy she’s associated with. Most of Dancing with the Stars’ fans likely know Jade from the college admissions scandal she was part of with her mother, Lori Loughlin. There’s been drama since Jade’s inclusion, and even an ABC executive had to respond to rumors the competition favored her.
If America didn’t want Olivia Jade in the competition, though, one would think she’d be gone already. The fact this is her first week in the Bottom 2 definitely does give some indication this is a fluke, though next week’s standings will tell the full story. In either case, Jade can't win this competition with top scores from the judges alone, or she wouldn't have nearly been sent home in Week 5. She needs the votes from fans as well.
Dancing with the Stars airs on ABC on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for all the highlights of Season 30, including commentary on Tyra Banks’ wild outfits.
