Dancing With the Stars Halloween Episode Delivers Perfect Score and Two Eliminations
The Halloween-themed episode of DWTS season 35 featured a perfect 40-point performance, Val Chmerkovskiy's return after suspension, and the elimination of two couples based on combined judges' scores and viewer votes.
Dancing With the Stars marked Halloween with a horror-movie-inspired dance night, pairing contestants with music from titles such as Sinners, Black Swan and Joker. Guest judge Shirley Ballas joined the panel, awarding a four to Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa and matching that score for Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, while other judges gave those couples eight points each.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson became the first pair of the season to receive a perfect 40-point score for their contemporary routine to “Toxic” by 2WEI, which was themed around Saw. The episode also saw professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy return after a one-week suspension related to a comment about the Oscars incident involving Will Smith.
With no elimination after the prior Dedication Night, two couples were slated for departure at the end of the Halloween episode. Viewer voting, limited to ten votes per couple per method, combined with judges' scores from both nights to determine the outcomes. Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, tied at 67 points, and Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess, also at 67 points, were the lowest-scoring pairs and were eliminated.
Looking ahead, the show teased a Disney-themed episode, announcing Cynthia Erivo as the next guest judge.