Guillermo Rodriguez spoke out after his “Dancing With the Stars” elimination.
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” star, 54, and his pro partner Witney Carson, 32, were sent home Tuesday during the show’s first-ever “Super Bowl Night,” becoming the latest casualties of Season 35’s competition for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. Their Salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tità Me Preguntó” landed them at the bottom of the leaderboard with a 22/40 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, plus guest judge Joe Buck.
“I had a lot of fun. It was great,” Rodriguez said after learning his fate. “Witney, I love you for teaching me how to dance.”
Carson returned the affection in her own farewell remarks, thanking Rodriguez for “making this season just so fun, so enjoyable” and praising him for taking care of her — and her unborn baby — “throughout this entire season.”
The elimination spared another couple in jeopardy. Tyler Cameron, 32, and Sharna Burgess, 39, survived the cut despite landing in the bottom two, earning another week to compete. The “Bachelor Nation” star and his pro partner had delivered a Jazz routine to Black Eyed Peas’ “The Time (Dirty Bit)” that Tonioli praised for channeling “Dirty Dancing” and Gene Kelly, scoring 30/40.
The themed episode packed the ballroom with football-adjacent spectacle, celebrating what ABC promoted as the “music, spectacle and unforgettable moments of the big game.” A cameo by “Jane the Virgin” alum Justin Baldoni and his family previewed the network’s upcoming Super Bowl LXI broadcast in February 2027 on ABC and ESPN.
Jenna Dewan, 44, and Val Chmerkovskiy, 39, emerged as the night’s top scorers alongside Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. The “Step Up” actress and her partner earned 36/40 for a Paso Doble to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” — a song Dewan had previously performed during a 2023 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Buck told the pair he “forgot who the pro is.”
Frech, a Paralympian gold medalist, and Karagach matched that score with their closing Salsa to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.” The routine carried extra resonance: Karagach had been paired with Nelly himself during her debut season on Season 29 of the competition. Tonioli called Frech’s performance “smoldering.”
Other standouts included Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, who opened the night with a Tango to Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World)” that Tonioli called “thrilling from start to finish,” earning 33/40. Julia Stiles, 44, and Ezra Sosa scored the same for a Jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From the Block [Track Masters Remix],” with Tonioli declaring it Stiles’ “best one so far.”
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov earned 34/40 for a Samba to “Mi Gente” that had Inaba declaring the Olympian gold medalist “ate” and Buck calling “hot.” Harry Shum Jr. And Jenna Johnson matched Higgins and Ballas with 33/40 for their Samba to Usher’s “Yeah!” — though Inaba dinged the duo for a lift in a tense exchange. Derek had called the “Glee” alum’s performance “fantastic.”
Lower scores went to Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, who earned 31/40 for a Salsa to “Uptown Funk” that Derek called the Savannah Bananas player’s “best dance.” Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold received 25/40 for a Samba to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” with Derek praising the comedian’s “joy” but advising him to “keep working on it.” Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik landed at 29/40 for a Salsa to Kendrick Lamar’s “Squabble Up” that Derek found “too laid back.”
Rodriguez and Carson’s departure follows other surprising exits this season. Hanson singer Taylor Hanson and “Summer House” star Ciara Miller were previously eliminated, while “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Conner Leavitt, “Love Thy Nader” star Sarah Jane Nader and celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis were sent packing earlier in the competition.
New episodes of “DWTS” air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, and stream on Hulu the following day.
