LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ricki Lake celebrated her top-scoring 23 points and 12 inches of weight loss; Nancy Grace celebrated some quick thinking in the control room; and Chaz Bono celebrated just getting through his routine on “Dancing With the Stars.”
“My knees just hurt so much,” Bono said before landing in last place Monday night. The author and activist is counting on viewer votes to carry him through Tuesday’s episode, when a second celebrity will be eliminated from the hit ABC show.
Judges’ scores are combined with viewer votes to determine who is ousted each week. Basketball star Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace, was the first contestant to go.
Judges said Monday that Bono’s quickstep was just too slow and gave him 17 points out of 30.
“The bottom line is it’s a quickstep and I’ve moved faster through the car wash,” judge Len Goodman said.
Grace was perhaps moving a little too fast. She suffered a wardrobe malfunction during a bouncy number danced to “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing”). Grace had a little too much swing in partner Tristan MacManus’ arms and her breast spilled out of her dress.
Viewers saw little if nothing of the mishap, however, thanks to a quick cut-away to the studio audience. After the number, host Tom Bergeron consoled the flustered Grace.
“On the European version,” he said with a laugh, “that would be perfectly fine.”
The 42-year-old Bono blamed his aching knees for forcing him to “(take) out some of the flashier stuff that was just really hurting my body,” but said he’ll push himself to the limit to stay on the show.
Lake’s flashy moves during the jive earned her and partner Derek Hough the highest score of the night, and she’s as happy about that as she is about her shrinking body. Lake, who said last week that she was inspired by former contestant Kirstie Alley’s “Dancing” weight loss, has dropped four inches from her hips, four from her waist and another four from the rest of her after three weeks of rehearsals.
“I’m really getting in great shape,” she said after the show. “I’ll be wearing less and less clothing. The smaller I get, the less will be covered.”
Contestant Rob Kardashian revealed his own weight woes before collecting 21 points for what judges called a “confident” jive.
“It’s official. Rob Kardashian is a better dancer than (sister) Kim Kardashian!” judge Carrie Ann Inaba said Monday. (Kim lasted just three weeks when she was part of the show’s 2008 cast.)
“You have the dancing gene,” Inaba said.
Kardashian’s 21 points were good for third place, where he tied with Grace, singer Chynna Phillips and Italian actress (and Clooney ex) Elisabetta Canalis.
Actor J.R. Martinez and reality star Kristin Cavallari both finished second with 22 points.
Joining Bono near the bottom of the scoreboard were actor David Arquette and TV personality Carson Kressley, who each earned 18 points.
Arquette said before his performance that he wanted to “blow people’s minds,” but the judges slammed his routine.
“Any connection that had with the jive was a coincidence,” Goodman said. “The technique wasn’t there.”
Kressley turned in hours of extra rehearsal time, but his quickstep was still “a little wobbly,” Inaba said.
Soccer pro Hope Solo scored 19 points for a jive that earned a mixed response from the judges.
The new “Dancing” set, however, which made its debut last week, is winning unanimous raves from the cast of pros. The revamped ballroom features a three-tier balcony, cocktail-table seating and a grand staircase that splits to reveal the orchestra.
“It’s so epic. It’s an honor to dance on it,” said Mark Ballas, Cavallari’s professional partner. “It’s got a cool energy. You step out into it. It feels like a Roman coliseum.”
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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at https://www.twitter.com/APSandy.
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