Vernon Davis was voted off Dancing With The Stars on Monday as the field of remaining dancers narrowed down to 10.
The 36-year-old former pro football player and his partner Peta Murgatroyd, 34, had earlier performed a cha-cha to Kool & The Gang’s Celebration, which Vernon dedicated to his late grandfather.
‘You have an ease about you, which makes it very comfortable to watch,’ judge Carrie Ann Inaba, 52, told Vernon, conceding that the duo had made ‘a lot of mistakes.’
Football star: Vernon Davis was voted off Dancing With The Stars on Monday as the field of remaining dancers narrowed down to 10
With just 21 points, Vernon failed to garner many votes from viewers, and found himself in the bottom two and at risk of elimination with Johnny Weir, 36, and his partner Britt Stewart, 31.
Carrie Ann voted to save Vernon, but judges Derek Hough, 35, and Bruno Tonioli, 64, both voted for Johnny, whom Bruno said had given ‘fantastic performances.’
As the first dancer during the season 29 episode, Johnny scored 22 points for a steamy salsa to Jennifer Lopez’s On The Floor, which he dedicated to his BFFs, among them gymnast Tara Lipinski, 38.
‘Johnny strikes a pose and works it for all it’s worth!’ Bruno cried after watching him and Britt.
Fun dance: The 36-year-old former pro football player and his partner Peta Murgatroyd, 34, had earlier performed a cha-cha to Kool & The Gang’s Celebration
Vernon was sanguine about the loss, which he took in typically gentlemanly fashion.
‘It was a great journey for me,’ he offered. ‘I learned a lot about myself.’
At the top of the leaderboard was Monica Aldama, 46, the star of Netflix’s Cheer, who earned 27 points to tie with AJ McLean, 42, Kaitlyn Bristowe, 35, and Justina Machado, 48.
High score: At the top of the leaderboard was Monica Aldama, 46, the star of Netflix’s Cheer, who earned 27 points for her dance with pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Disney star Skai Jackson, 18, was at the bottom with just 18 points after several missteps.
Monica and Val Chmerkovskiy, 34, did a romantic rumba to Rod Stewart’s Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?, which she dedicated to her husband of 26 years, Chris Aldama.
Carrie Ann said the dance proved that Monica had come into her own, noting, ‘I know you’re amazing in the cheer world, but now you’re amazing in the ballroom world.’
Romantic performance: Monica and Val Chmerkovskiy, 34, did a romantic rumba to Rod Stewart’s Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?, which she dedicated to her husband of 26 years, Chris Aldama
Backstreet Boy AJ and partner Cheryl Burke, 36, did a samba to J. Balvin’s Mi Gente, which led Derek to say, ‘When in doubt, shake it out! And you shook it.’
Reality star Kaitlyn and Artem Chigvintsev, 38, also turned out a samba to Justin Bieber’s Sorry, which Kaitlyn, a Belieber, was thrilled about.
‘My darling, I’m a Belieber, too,’ Bruno told her, calling her dance ‘first-class.’ ‘I Beliebe in you!’
Low score: Disney star Skai Jackson, 18, was at the bottom with just 18 points after several missteps
Messed up: Skai and Alan Bersten, 26, stumbled during their cha-cha to Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj’s Say So
Carrie Ann was ‘not super-impressed’ and said, ‘You want to win? I need you to give us more!’ to a chorus of boos.
Justina and Sasha Farber, 36, then unveiled a lovely Viennese waltz to Billy Joel’s She’s Always A Woman, which Bruno described as ‘smooth as silk, light as a feather.’
‘You fill the floor with joy,’ he told Justina, who had gotten a lot of support from fans online for her ‘curvy’ shape.
The judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli evaluated the talent while Tyra Banks hosted the show
‘To all the women out there that are struggling with insecurities, you are beautiful,’ she said.
Nev Schulman, 35, and Jenna Johnson, 26, rocked a fast-paced jazz routine to Marky Mark’s 1991 hit Good Vibrations, earning them 26 points.
Bruno loved the propulsive dance, calling it ‘deliciously bonkers—confusing and amusing!’
Jazz dance: Nev Schulman, 35, and Jenna Johnson, 26, rocked a fast-paced jazz routine to Marky Mark’s 1991 hit Good Vibrations, earning them 26 points
Skai and Alan Bersten, 26, stumbled during their cha-cha to Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj’s Say So, about which Derek said, ‘It happens to all of us,’ before giving her the episode’s lowest score.
Chrishell Stause, 39, and Gleb Savchenko paid tribute to her parents, both of whom recently died of lung cancer, with a contemporary dance to Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
‘I’m sure that Renée and Jeff Stause are watching over you and very proud of you,’ Carrie Ann told Chrishell, who nabbed 24 points. ‘You poured your heart and soul into that dance.’
Strong start: Skai did the splits at the start of her routine
In one of the best dances of the night, the rapper Nelly, 45, did a Viennese waltz to Humble And Kind by Tim McGraw, a friend with whom he recorded the 2004 song Over And Over.
Nelly, a native of Austin, Texas, said he was a secret country music fan who admired the work of Hank Williams and George Strait, and was soon about to release a ‘country-influenced’ EP.
‘I always love to do the things that people wouldn’t try, or wouldn’t dare,’ he told his partner Daniella Karagach, 28. ‘Hence me being here.’
Olympics star: Johnny Weir impressed again with pro partner Britt Stewart
Carrie Ann called his dance ‘beautiful and elegant,’ saying, ‘One of the most beautiful things about this show is getting to see different layers of people that we thought we knew. Who are you, you Viennese waltzing, hip-hop mega-mogul?’
‘Today I had to channel my inner Bruno,’ Nelly said, smiling as he received 24 points.
Jeannie Mai, 41, and Brandon Armstrong, 26, also did a beautiful rumba to Des’ree’s Gotta Be, which Jeannie dedicated to her mother, who fled Vietnam on a boat in 1977.
She and the rest of her family almost drowned on their journey to the United States, but as Jeannie’s grandmother Lan Le Duong pointed out, ‘Now our children are free to live their life.’
When Jeannie finished her dance, she had tears in her eyes, and said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the sacrifices her family had made so she could be where she was.
Good scores: Britt and Johnny earned 22 points for their salsa
‘You are stunning,’ Carrie Ann told Jeannie, who scored 25 points. ‘And what is so exciting about you is how much you give everything you do.’
The episode also featured incredible Spanish dancing from Derek, a six-time Mirrorball champion who performed with his girlfriend, pro dancer Hayley Erbert, 26.
Dancing With The Stars will return next week on ABC.
Double duty: The episode also featured incredible Spanish dancing from Derek, a six-time Mirrorball champion who performed with his girlfriend, pro dancer Hayley Erbert, 26
Dancing With The Stars Injuries
In 2006, season two contestant Romeo Miller withdrew from Dancing With The Stars due to an injury and was replaced by his father Master P.
Pro dancer Derek Hough during season six in 2008 pulled his neck during rehearsal and missed a week of dancing.
Derek during season seven also blacked out during rehearsal after tripping and landing on the back of his head.
Season seven also saw the departure of Misty May-Treanor after she was injured during practice and ruptured her Achilles tendon.
Rehearsal injury: Misty May-Treanor is shown with host Tom Bergeron in October 2008 as she revealed rupturing her Achilles tendon during practice on Dancing With The Stars
Brooke Burke also severely bruised her foot during season seven during camera blocking when she landed hard doing a front flip with pro partner Derek.
Susan Lucci during season seven fractured two bones in her foot, but remained in the competition.
Nancy O’Dell withdrew from season eight due to a torn meniscus, along with Jewel who fractured both her tibias just before the season premiere.
Steve-O also suffered a pulled back muscle during dress rehearsal in season eight and was unable to perform the salsa live.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay during season nine withdrew from the competition in week three after injuring his foot during rehearsals before the premiere.
Billy Dee Williams was forced to withdraw from season 18 due to a chronic back problem.
Early exit; Billy Dee Williams withdrew early from season 18 due to a chronic back problem
Pro dancer Mark Ballas during season 22 injured his back during rehearsal and was unable to perform for a week with his partner, UFC fighter Paige VanZant.
Pro dancer Sharna Burgess during season 23 injured her knee during rehearsal with James Hinchcliffe and was out for two weeks.
Pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy during season 24 suffered a calf muscle injury during rehearsal with Heather Morris and was replaced by dance troupe member Alan Bersten during a four-week recovery period.
Christie Brinkley broke her arm during practice five days before the season 28 premiere and was replaced by her daughter Sailor Brinkley-Cook.
Ray Lewis was forced to withdraw from season 28 after suffering three torn tendons in his foot during practice ahead of week three Movie Night. He re-aggravated an injury from 2010 while playing football for the Baltimore Ravens.
Country singer Lauren Alaina during Halloween Week of season 28 revealed that she’d been dancing with ‘four hurt ribs,’ having broken one during the first week of the show, and noting the others ‘don’t feel great’.
The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe suffered an ‘ankle injury’ during week two of season 29, but still performed with pro partner Artem Chigvintsev. She later revealed during Disney Night that she was suffering from tendonitis and shin splints.
Stepping in: Christie Brinkley broke her arm during practice five days before the season 28 premiere of DWTS and was replaced by her daughter Sailor Brinkley-Cook