![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/derek-to-use-e1726097230464.jpeg\")
<\/a>Karen Salkin with the always-biggest star on DWTS–Derek Hough. Photo by…Derek Hough!!!<\/p><\/div>\n
There\u2019s actually not even one<\/em> star on Dancing With The Stars<\/em>, (aka DWTS<\/em>,) this year! Well, to be technical, hosts Alfonso Ribiero<\/strong> and Julianne Hough<\/strong> are, and judge Derek Hough<\/strong> is a huge<\/em> one. And a few of the professional<\/em> partners have become somewhat famous, as well, (such as Mark Ballas<\/strong> starring on Broadway in Jersey Boys<\/em> a few years back.) But those<\/em> people are not the ones to whom the title refers\u2014it\u2019s supposed to mean the competitors<\/em>. Oh well.<\/p>\n The first two eliminations happened last week, on the second show of this season, so I\u2019ll address them first:<\/p>\n Corey Feldman and Jenna Johnson<\/strong>\u2014I know of Corey only because I used to read about mess-ups on his part. Upon researching him for this article, I discovered that he has a lot<\/em> of acting credits, most notably in a bunch of movies he did when he was young, but I never saw any. I think he can be classified as a former movie star, so there\u2019s that. But, if he really did believe he could win DWTS<\/em>, (as he said on the show,) he\u2019s delusional. I give him credit for trying to dance, though.<\/p>\n Baron Davis and Britt Stewart.<\/p><\/div>\n Baron Davis and Britt Stewart<\/strong>\u2014As a basketball fan, and also one of UCLA, (my own third of four colleges,) this elimination made me sad. Back in the day, I was friends with the UCLA basketball team when we heard that Baron Davis, a local star high school player, had chosen to play his college basketball right there at UCLA! There was so much excitement at that announcement. On top of that, I had a slight connection to his high school, Crossroads, because some of the students were fans of my TV show and came to my tapings. So, back to DWTS<\/em>, Baron was much better the second week than he was the first. So I really wanted to see him dance more. Plus, I like his pro partner, Britt. With all the competitors who have actually been real<\/em> dancers, (Elaine Hendrix, Hilaria Baldwin, Whitney Leavitt, Jen Affleck, Alix Earle,) and most of the others having at least some dance training<\/em>, I knew Baron wouldn\u2019t go far, but he deserved at least one more week. I felt so bad at how crushed he looked when voted off.<\/p>\n Now, about all the rest of the (mostly unknown) contestants. Some are actually really good dancers, but that does not make them \u201cstars.\u201d Heck, most of them are not even celebrities<\/em>! Some are has-beens, some are never-weres, some are from reality shows, and one is a so-called influencer, though who those people influence, and to do what, is a mystery!<\/p>\n The majority of them are soooo nobodies, in fact, that Mr. X and I didn\u2019t even discuss the new cast when it was announced! The lack of famous competitors made me really not want to watch this year, but I broke down, most likely just to So, here are my in-depth thoughts on everyone after watching both of the episodes that have been on so far:<\/p>\n The producers make-up so many odd designations for these non-stars! They label them as \u201cactivist,\u201d \u201cconservationist,\u201d and the inane \u201cinfluencer.\u201d They even said that the Baldwin wife is a \u201cyoga teacher!\u201d How does that make anyone a star???<\/p>\n Robert Irwin and Witney Carson.<\/p><\/div>\n In week two, Mr. X asked me, \u201cWho are those girls?!,\u201d referring to Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles and Lauren Jauregui, who was in the singing group Fifth Harmony. That made me laugh. (And, by the way, whenever I write \u201cwe,\u201d it means Mr. X and me.)<\/p>\n The only real worthwhile dancer, (and perhaps even person<\/em>,) on there is Robert Irwin,<\/strong> whose partner is the adorable Witney<\/strong> Carson<\/strong>. I\u2019m rooting for them because of his wonderful dancing, but the facts that he\u2019s adorable, charming, and a good person, with a lovely family, (sister, and former deserving DWTS<\/em> Champion, Bindi and mom Terri Irwin,) don\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n The ones I\u2019m rooting against<\/em>, outside of the trio of unknowns at the bottom of this column:<\/p>\n Hilaria Baldwin and Gleb Savchenko<\/strong>\u2014I want her to be eliminated pronto! The woman is from Boston<\/em>, yet now she\u2019s not only still<\/em> trying to affect a Spanish accent after all these years of being a phony, but she\u2019s tinging it with a bit of a Brooklyn one!!! And that baby voice is like nails on a chalkboard, for just about everyone, not just me. It doesn\u2019t matter that she is able to dance\u2014she\u2019s insane. (This is what I wrote about her Spanish craziness in 2021: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/juicy-gossp-hilaria-baldwin-hil-arity<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa<\/strong>\u2014She dances well enough, but, especially as a former dancer, her pigeon toes are driving me crazy. But the reason I\u2019m a little iffy on her is because she was erroneously awarded a bronze medal in the Olympics, and when they said some technical issue means it really belonged to a different athlete, (whose routine really was better than Jordan\u2019s,) she wouldn\u2019t return it. (And seeing the competition, I felt she really<\/em> came in fifth!) I don\u2019t know if the conflict was ever resolved, but, as an avid sports watcher, and believer in fairness, I really do believe the Olympics Committee should have just awarded two<\/em> bronzes instead of embarrassing anyone. But I do notice that the whole debacle did turn me against Jordan a tad.<\/p>\n Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold<\/strong>\u2014I adore Rylee<\/em>, but Scott<\/em> is somehow rubbing me the wrong way. I like his singing group, Pentatonic, and totally rooted for them when they were unknowns competing on The Sing-Off<\/em>, an a cappella competition show many moons ago, (which I watched just because Nick Lachey, a former celeb crush, hosted it,) but Scott is just not cutting it for me on this<\/em> one, neither with his dancing nor personality.<\/p>\n In addition to Robert Irwin and Witney Carson<\/strong> the ones I\u2019m rooting for<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/a>make fun of everyone<\/del> continue Mr. X and my tradition of never missing a season of the show.<\/p>\n<\/a>