5 All-Time Most Shocking "Dancing with the Stars" Eliminations

"Dancing with the Stars" asks celebrities of all kinds to try something new. The contestants are typically stars with no professional dancing experience. They have to leave their ego at the door to be a competitor on "Dancing with the Stars," and not all celebrities are able to do this. These 5 eliminations were the most shocking and controversial eliminations throughout the history of the show.

1. David Alan Grier became a crowdpleaser during Season 8. While he didn't always get the top scores, he stood out with his personality. He also lost 26 pounds within the fourth week of performing on the show. When he was booted out shortly therafter, though, he got angry. He told Access Hollywood, "I am proudest that I didn't climb across that table and slap the **** out of every one of those judges, and that's my proudest accomplishment."

2. Sabrina Bryan, of "Cheetah Girls" fame, joined with dance partner Mark Ballas for Season 5 of "Dancing with the Stars." The two got consistently high scores and seemingly strong audience approval. However, they were voted out shortly after setting a scoring record in their fourth week on the show. The elimination brought judges to tears. It wasn't an all-around loss for the two, however. Ballas and Bryan soon made national headlines for admitting that they had become a couple off-screen during the season.

3. Michael Bolton did not bow out of Season 11 in silence. He told Good Morning America that he wanted an apology from judge Bruno Tonioli, who called Bolton's dance with partner Chelsie Hightower "the worst jive in 11 seasons." Bolton also expressed his opinion that he thinks the show itself should reprimmand Bruno for his cruelty. Despite the fuss, there has yet to be an apology from the judge, and Bruno has not tamed his tongue with others, either.

4. Shannen Doherty and her dance partner, Mark Ballas (who has won two Mirrorball trophies), were the first pair to be voted out of Season 10. This was surprising to many, as Doherty's scores were in the middle with her Viennese Waltz. Her motivation for going on the show was her dancing enthusiast dad, who was recovering from a stroke. Also, while there is some controversy as to reality show participants being dubbed "stars" to appear in the show, Doherty was a bonafide TV star, a veteran star of shows like "Little House on the Prairie," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Our House," and "Charmed" since she was a child. It's still a mystery to many why more voters didn't get behind this well-known actress, but she handled it gracefully, admitting that she was an actress, not a dancer.

5. Handling the elimination with perhaps more grace than any former contestant, Florence Henderson and her dance partner, Corky Ballas, left near the middle of Season 11. Henderson was a crowd favorite and much-beloved by TV audiences because of her role as Carol Brady on "The Brady Bunch." At age 76, she had as much flexibility, energy and vivaciousness as the contestants barely in their twenties. Nevertheless, she smiled, saying, "I hope I've inspired people to get up off their behind and move and dance and live and enjoy life."

The way that celebrities handle their eliminations do add to some of the controversy, but stars like Florence Henderson who give it their all, while handling the rejections with grace and gratitude, may be the ones that ultimately win the long-term gifts of what the show has to offer.

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Deborah Starr, "Dancing with the Stars" Romance Revealed", TV Guide [http://www.tvguide.com/news/dancing-bryan-ballas-37179.aspx]

David Alan Grier Slams Judge, Access Hollywood, http://www.accesshollywood.com/david-alan-grier-slams-carrie-ann-inaba-following-dancing-dismissal_article_16493

Sandy Cohen, Shannen Doherty Voted off "Dancing with the Stars," The Huffington Post, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/31/shannen-doherty-kicked-of_n_519725.html]

Associated Press, Florence Henderson Off "Dancing with the Stars," CBS News [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/19/entertainment/main6973995.shtml]

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