Conner Leavitt eliminated as DWTS voting glitch forces reliance on text votes

Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars opened on Tuesday with a mixed cast of celebrities and a technical issue that disrupted the voting process. The online voting platform crashed during the live broadcast, prompting host Alfonso Ribeiro to announce that only text-message votes would be counted for the night.

Reality-TV personality Conner Leavitt and professional partner Adele Zaikman were the first pair to leave the competition. The duo performed a salsa to Tag Team’s "Whoomp! (There It Is)" and received a combined judges’ score of 12 out of 30. > "This has been the most fun," Leavitt said after the elimination, adding that he appreciated his partnership with Zaikman. > "It's a dream come true no matter what, and I'm so lucky that I had Conner," Zaikman responded.

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson topped the leaderboard with a cha-cha to Earth, Wind & Fire’s "Let's Groove," earning 21 points. Paralympic gold-medalist Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach followed with 20 points, while other contestants scored between 15 and 17.

The show will resume Wednesday, Sept. 16, with the debut of the female celebrity contestants, and will continue airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with next-day streaming on Hulu.