Dancing With The Stars has attracted the ire of Aussie viewers after its shocking double elimination saw Nova Peris and fan-favourite Julie Goodwin get sent home.
Viewers flocked to X on Sunday night to express their disappointment as the beloved MasterChef star, 53, was sent packing after she seemingly impressed the judges.
Some fans went so far as to accuse the dancing competition of being ‘rigged’, while others suggested contestant Ben Cousins, who scored lower than Julie with the judges, should have been sent home instead.
‘Well, that’s certainly… unexpected,’ one user wrote after the elimination was announced and Nova, 53, and Julie said their goodbyes.
‘WTF Julie should of got to stay,’ another wrote, while someone else said: ‘Julie ripped off bad.’
A fourth added, ‘Rigged they’re really trying to redeem Ben,’ as one wrote: ‘Who’s voting for Ben? Seriously…’.
‘How on earth does Ben keep surviving? Has to be rigged for their whole bs “redemption arc.”‘
Following the shock elimination of Nova and Julie, as well as fan-favourite MasterChef star Hayden Quinn in the last elimination round, judge Helen Richey has been forced to speak out against ‘favouritism’ claims.
It seems fans are being left disappointed each week when contestants who vote high on their skills with the judges are getting cut in the public voting rounds.
Despite eliminations being based on a combination of viewer votes and judges’ scores, some fans have accused the judges of favouritism, reported New Idea recently.
Judge Helen, 79, who is a former competitive ballroom and Latin dancer, told the publication: ‘People may not believe me, but the judges and contestants are kept quite separate.
‘Yes, a lot of the professional dancers I know quite well – [my husband] Robert and I have actually trained quite a few of them – but when the show is on we have nothing to do with them.
‘We do our best to keep the competition absolutely fair for both the celebrities and the pro dancers.’
Julia and Nova were both sent home on Sunday night after failing to impress voters at home.
After a sensational group performance to Kylie Minogue’s Step Back in Time, the couples faced off for a place in the Semi Final.
In her disco era, Nova served up Cha Cha, although Helen critiqued that she was staying within her capabilities.
Nova scored 19 points, and it was not enough to save her despite making a valiant effort.
Meanwhile, Julie returned to the floor with an impressive Foxtrot, scoring a healthy 27 points.
The judges called her ‘a sexy vixen,’ ‘a sassy minx,’ and even a ‘dominatrix’ after her steamy performance.
With no dance-off, it was Nova and Julie who ended up on the bottom of the leaderboard and were sent home.
‘I can’t win everything in life,’ Julie joked upon getting the bad news, to laughter from the audience.
‘I’ve had an absolute ball and it’s been fun. And I’ve lived my dream,’ she added.
Nova admitted she was disappointed to be leaving so close to the finals.
‘Look, I’m so sad to not be dancing the next few weeks,’ the Olympic gold medal winner said.
‘It’s just been a magical experience. It’s hard to put into words. I will carry myself differently out into the world from here,’ she added.
The most impressive performances of the night came from Samantha Jade and her partner Gustavo Viglio who scored 39.
Also at the top of the pack was actress Lisa McCune and her dance partner Ian Waite who likewise won 39 points.
Channelling her inner Lady Gaga, comedian Nikki Osborne received a standing ovation for her Rumba to, earning a score of 35.
Dancing With The Stars continues 7pm, Sunday on Channel 7 and 7plus.