Ally Brooke Offers Her ‘DWTS’ Spot to James Van Der Beek
Last night’s episode of Dancing With the Stars was an emotional one
Photo: Flickr/tonyshek
Last night’s episode of Dancing With the Stars was an emotional one. If things weren’t already tense enough during the semifinals episode, actor James Van Der Beek disclosed that his wife Kimberly, and mother of his five children, had suffered a miscarriage. During the final eliminations, it was between Van Der Beek and former Fifth Harmony member, Ally Brooke. All three judges picked Brooke, which came as a more significant blow to Van Der Beek after his heartbreaking news. But Brooke wanted Van Der Beek to continue. As host, Tom Bergeron called on each judge, Brooke attempted to get his attention so he could hear her request. When Van Der Beek said his goodbye, Brooke asked Bergeron if she could give her spot to Van Der Beek, to which he said no.
“I’m really sad, and I just feel like it’s not right that he went home, and that is how I feel,” Brooke said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “But it’s really tough, especially given James’ circumstances that he went tonight. I don’t believe it’s fair that he was sent home, so I just wanted to give my spot to him. He’s been through so much, and he’s overcome so many things. Especially this past week, I just felt it was right to give it to him. Obviously, he didn’t accept it. I talked to him, and he was proud of me. He told me, ‘Don’t be afraid to shine.’ So I’m going to take that with me, and I just have to do this for him, is what I feel.”
Yesterday on Instagram, Van Der Beek disclosed the trauma he and his family are enduring right now after his wife’s miscarriage.
“Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. We’ve been through this before, but never this late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to @vanderkimberly and her well-being. Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one.”
Fans on social media were also touched that Brooke wanted Van Der Beek to remain in the competition. Several of them tweeted their thoughts over the emotional exchange last night. One supporter tweeted, “Ally really thought that James deserved to be there more than her and could get more votes and actually win because she knows she probably has the votes so she wanted to give her spot. THIS WOMAN IS SO PURE.”
Watch the entire elimination below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeURFutT6tE
