James Hinchcliffe Earns Immunity While a Fellow Male DWTS Contestant Goes Home — Find Out Who!
It was a perfect Halloween night for Dancing with the Stars contestant James Hinchcliffe on Monday!
Although the IndyCar Series racer was unable to dance with pro partner Sharna Burgess after she suffered a knee injury that forced her to sit out of week 8’s live show, he still wowed both the audience and the judges after he and pro dancer Jenna Johnson performed on the Halloween-themed night.
Taking on the roles of the Joker and Harley Quinn, 29-year-old Hinchcliffe and Johnson danced their Viennese Waltz to the tune of “You Don’t Own Me” as Burgess watched from overhead.
Although Burgess was unable to physically participate in the performance, her support and training contributed to the race car driver earning a perfect 30/30 for the night and rave reviews from the judges.
And the good news didn’t stop there! Host Tom Bergeron also announced that Hinchcliffe was the one and only contestant to score immunity for week 8.
Unfortunately, though, the night didn’t bode so well for fellow male contestant and Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, who pushed on and progressed weekly after two male protesters stormed the stage at the wrap of his dance on the show’s season 23 premiere.
After earning a 23/30 for his and pro partner Cheryl Burke‘s tango, the couple was announced as one of the two pairs in jeopardy (alongside Terra Jolé and Sasha Farber) before it was revealed that they were eliminated from the competition.
“I knew it was going to happen eventually. The people, the friendships that I’ve made here we’re pretty much a second family now. Now I’m saying goodbye, it’s sad. I will be back into weeks for the finale so I
can’t say all my goodbyes yet,” Lochte told PEOPLE after being eliminated. “I learned a lot about myself. No matter how hard people knock me down, I can still get up and keep fighting no matter what and keep moving forward and staying positive.”
Lochte also took to Instagram to commemorate his time with Burke. “We had a great run. Thank you for being so patient with me and teaching me how to dance. Ur truly amazing person and dancer. Our friendship will last forever. Thank you!!! #teamcherloch #dwts,” he captioned a photo of the pair.
Burke added of what she enjoyed most about dancing with Lochte: “Just getting to know him. I mean showing America he’s just a normal guy. I guess stop people from judging when you don’t really know somebody. Ryan is really down to earth, humble, he’s just a normal dude. If I had a brother I would compare him to that.”
Going into week 9, six couples are left competing in the ABC reality dancing competition series. Who are you hoping will win?
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
