‘DWTS’ Recap: Season 32 Premieres with First Elimination
ABC/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 3 minutes
Dancing with the Stars returned on Tuesday night for the Season 32 premiere, as 14 celebrities took the ballroom by storm with their professional partners. Early standouts for this season include Charity Lawson, Ariana Madix, Jason Mraz, and Lele Pons.
Tuesday also marked the first elimination night for the season. Voting was open during the show, and the votes were combined with the judges’ scores to determine who should go home. At the end of the night, we had to say goodbye to Matt Walsh and his partner Koko Iwasaki.
Charity Lawson Earns Highest Score in DWTS Season Premiere
Charity Lawson lived up to the previous Bachelorette winners from seasons past when she stepped into the ballroom with her partner Artem Chigvintsev. The pair danced the Tango, earning praise from the judges.
When their performance was over, Carrie Ann Inaba wondered, “What week is it?!” Charity is definitely a frontrunner this season. The judges gave her and Artem a combined score of 22, which was the highest of the night.
Coming in right behind her with 21 points were Ariana Madix and Jason Mraz. Ariana and her partner Pasha Pashkov closed the night with another Tango that judge Derek Hough called “killer.” Inbaba referred to Madix’s Vanderpump Rules scandal by saying that was “how you handle a cheater.”
Earlier in the night, singer Jason Mraz and his partner Daniella Karagach danced a lively Cha Cha that Inaba called the best dance so far. Meanwhile, YouTuber Lele Pons powered through a broken nail to deliver an impressive Tango that earned a score of 19 from the judges.
SEE ALSO: ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ HONORS THE LATE LEN GOODMAN BY CHANGING THE MIRRORBALL TROPHY TO HIS NAME
We accept this Tango with @charitylaws_ & @artemchigvintse 🌹 #DWTS pic.twitter.com/kYX5EXT1P2
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) September 27, 2023
Matt Walsh, Koko Iwasaki Are Eliminated
Voting was open during the show, and at the end of the night, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced who was eliminated. They shared that the bottom two pairs were Mauricio Umansky and his partner Emma Slater, as well as Matt Walsh and his partner Koko Iwasaki.
Mauricio and Emma earned a score of 15 for their Jive. There were other pairs who had lower scores than them but were safe — including Tyson Beckford, Alyson Hannigan, and Harry Jowsey. Meanwhile, Matt and Koko earned a score of 12 for their Cha Cha.
Ultimately, Matt and Koko were eliminated. Matt, who is a member of the WGA, previously paused his involvement in this season. However, he rejoined the show earlier this week when a tentative deal was made to end the writers’ strike.
What was your favorite performance of the night? Do you agree with the results? Can you already predict who will win this season? Let us know in the comments below.
