DWTS 5th Judge Shocker: TikTok Night Brings Shirtless Robert Irwin, Sends 'Pissed' Fan-Favorite Home

To help inspire them, the ballroom was filled with TikTok stars and choreographers, getting proper credit for the art they created, as well as some of the more traditional celebrity faces like Alec Baldwin, Kris Jenner, and even Fifth Harmony -- who all came to cheer on their girl Lauren (and feature with a cute cameo in her dance).

Season 31 winner Charli D'Amelio also returned to the ballroom, with quick appearances throughout the night to spotlight her own success at managing both the TikTok approach to dance as well as the more traditional formats. That said, we'd have much rather see her in one more beautiful full-length dance with her former partner Mark Ballas.

The pressure was on for everyone as this is a strong season with strong dancers up and down the lineup -- and Andy Richter. But Andy is the heart and soul of this young season, and everyone knows the audience loves a sentimental favorite, putting even more pressure on everyone else. He avoided elimination last week, can he do it again?

Also in potential danger, based on combined judges scores heading into this week, were Scott Hoying, Dylan Efron, Danielle Fishel, and Jordan Chiles. But what we can tell you is that a whole lot changed this week, with at least one of those names rising all the way to the top of the leaderboard, with another not far behind.

As some stars rise, others must fall, and that's exactly what happened. It's a testament to how competitive this overall group is, but it also increased the chances of something crazy and unexpected happening -- which is exactly what these Week 3 results did. 

Let's just say that the latest eliminated star wasn't the only one "pissed" in that ballroom! Who was it and how did it all go wrong? There's only one way to find out!

Fair warning, since I'm safe at home, I'm probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

(Various) Rather than just one number, the social media superstar and Season 31 winner popped up throughout the show to continuously prove that TikTok stars can dance for real, too … well, some of them. Okay, this one for sure. There's certainly a very different approach to a vertical screen dance that minimizes movement to filling a ballroom dancefloor, but Charli does a beautiful job of blending the two formats together in popup moments throughout the show. We also have to give props to DWTS this year for spotlighting the creators of some of these viral moves by not only giving them credit but inviting them to the show.

(Cha-cha-cha - "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," Carl Carlton) Jen has such a strong stage presence in general, but the theme must have felt like home for her because expression from the MomTok star. Jen had some good hip action throughout this, but her arms were working a little overtime, as if she was overcompensating for a lack of confidence in the style with just throwing it out there. The same for her legs. Let's just say, she was too straight with her arms and not straight enough with her legs. That said, we saw that hip swivel and we saw the basic shaping of the cha-cha. It just felt a little underrehearsed (not that we think she didn't put in the work, but it's a lot of little things to master in just a week).

Judges Scores: 7, 6, 6

My Score: 6

(Cha-cha-cha - "Work from Home," Fifth Harmony f. Ty Dolla $ign) Speaking of looking under-rehearsed, this one actually looked like a dress rehearsal walkthrough more than a final number. Her energy level started at about a six and dripped to a four by the end. Everything looked very tepid and insecure and more lumbering than sharp. It was actually an odd visual experience throughout as we know Lauren can move with more dynamic enthusiasm than this. This was giving, "Yeah (yawn) whatever, when are we done." That said, the Fifth Harmony reunion with Normani, Ally Brooke, and Dinah Jane at the table to close out was absolutely adorable.

Judges Scores: 6, 6, 6

My Score: 5

(Foxtrot - "Manchild," Sabrina Carpenter) The fact that this didn't start with Danielle sitting in a shopping cart is a huge missed opportunity, but we can guess that would be intimidating to try and get out of with grace. As for the dance itself, there was some grace, but also a little wobbly from Danielle. She was more led by Pasha across the dancefloor than partnering alongside him. That said, there was a lovely glide throughout and while she held her frame, we'd have liked to see a little more flex in the hip region to facilitate an even more confident motion.

Judges Scores: 7, 7, 7

My Score: 6

(Tango - "Anxiety," Doechii) Huge props to Ezra for incorporating their height difference into the sinister choreography and character work for this one. It went a long way to selling both the song choice and the subtle aggression of the piece. Jordan grew stronger in frame as the piece moved along while her leg extensions and holds were just gorgeous throughout. The difference from that rehearsal footage to the final product was miles and miles of hard work and it paid off. This was fierce attitude, great presence, and gorgeous frame.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 8

(Foxtrot - "Yukon," Justin Bieber) Daniella found the leading man in Dylan that Derek was looking for. He had a commanding presence throughout this piece, and also a very impressive frame that remained mostly consistent. We'd like to see him fully finish his arm extensions, even if Daniella is about to drop into a move where she needs him, but he was absolutely there for her throughout with gorgeous movement across the floor. The inner dancer we've seen within him since Week 1 is starting to stand front and center and we are here for it.

Judges Scores: 7, 8, 8

My Score: 8

(Tango - "Gnarly," Katseye) Elaine could have settled more into her grounding so there wouldn't be those little stutter hops between steps -- the idea is to create the illusion that the upper body is not moving up or down at all -- but we were impressed with her overall shape and the sharpness of her head movements. There were times it looked like she was just leaning back and Alan was holding her up rather than creating a proper frame and holding herself with her core, but this was overall a much more confident tango than rehearsal had us expecting. She's still got work to do in the sharpness and precision of movement, but it was there. We see you!

Judges Scores: 7, 7, 7

My Score: 7

(Samba - "Shake Ya Ass (Radio Edit)," MYSTIKAL) This was a very high-energy samba that definitely leaned more into the TikTok realm than what you might traditionally see on a dance floor. There was a frantic energy about it throughout that we couldn't tell if it was intentional or just a manifestation of nerves. Both dancers were very strong and confident in these moves, but we were hoping to spend a little more time in the traditional samba, whereas it looked like they were stepping into and out of it with as much speed as the overall tempo. When she was in it, Whitney had a very cool bounce and rhythm, so maybe we were just wanting to simmer in that a bit more because she might just be the frontrunner right now.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 8

(Jazz - "like JENNIE," JENNIE) If you've ever wanted to know what overthinking about the choreography can do to a performance, this is it. Scott was ahead of the beat through much of the first half as he was a little too busy anticipating the next move to allow himself to be fully in the moment. For the same reason he wasn't fully committing to or completing the moves before preparing to move on. This leads to Carrie Ann's note from last week about filling the space, because he's retracting his limbs in anticipation rather than really owning the now. It's not that Scott did poorly here, because he had a great energy and style, it's just that his determination to get it right got in the way a bit. And he did know this piece, so it's a smaller note than all of those words would suggest.

Judges Scores: 8, 7, 7

My Score: 7

(Samba - "Shake It to the Max (Fly) [Remix]," Moliy & Silent Addy f. Skillibeng & Shenseea) Much more in the realm of a traditional samba than Whitney's, Hilaria was worried that her hip replacement surgery would impact her flexibility -- and it did. There was a definite tightness from her throughout this dance and it started at her core, knocking her off the beat. Bruno nailed the most direct result of this, which was the lack of that classic samba bounce that holds the piece together and draws you in with just how damned cool it looks. Regardless, husband Alec Baldwin and Kris Jenner, side by side in the crowd, were loving every minute of it.

Judges Scores: 7, 8, 7

My Score: 7

(Foxtrot - "Northern Attitude," Noah Kahan f. Hozier) Andy again expressed his joy and appreciation at the love he got from America that saved him, calling it "like a giant Valentine [that] dropped from the sky." We absolutely loved that his "Hozier yell" moment of joy was just him grabbing the camera for a look around this ballroom. When is the last time we had a star who is just so enamored with this experience? On top of that, Andy's technique did improve. We saw moments of him holding his own out there, rather than just being a prop for Emma to dance around. His steps were a bit lighter (but still way too heavy) and his balance was stronger.

Judges Scores: 6, 6, 6

My Score: 4

(Salsa - "Million Dollar Baby," Tommy Richman) It wasn't just the strong partnering and choreography, Robert had such a cool and ferocious attitude throughout this piece, it was like he was channeling that alligator he and Witney played with instead of showing us any rehearsal footage. When he took the shirt off, he betrayed that his shoulders were tight and he was way too stiff in his little staccato movements for a salsa. That said, though, it's all the little extra things Robert puts into these performances that puts him at another level than most of the other guys in this competition. He and Dylan are probably competing for male frontrunner, but Robert has the tools to match his sister's feat of winning this whole show if he takes the notes and matches the styles a little more.

Judges Scores: 8, 7, 7

My Score: 7

(Quickstep - "Pop Muzik," M / Robin Scott) Project 21 founder Molly Long takes TikTok choreo to the next level, so it was fun to see her actually join rehearsal to help them incorporate her viral jazz take on this track into a quickstep. The final result was a lively and fun piece that Alix absolutely nailed. She's going to give Whitney a run for her money on the women's side of this competition, nailing both the jazz infused TikTok side if this as well as the more traditional quickstep. Her and Val were fantastic as they flew across the floor. The hops and feet were flying, but everything looked elegant and graceful, as the style wants.

Judges Scores: 8, 7, 8

My Score: 8

While the judges had Andy Richter and Lauren Jauregui at the same level this week, that was definitely not the case. Lauren was a bit of a mess, but her journey to this point has bee so much stronger than Andy's. He's definitely the weakest dancer in the competition, but we're also at that phase early on where sentimentality often wins out, carrying subpar dancers with heart deeper into the season.

Anyone who's watched this show knows this happens every season -- and there is outrage -- so we fully expected Andy to survive the night. But if Andy survives, then who goes? Ahead of him and Lauren in the rankings were Jen Affleck by one point, and then Danielle Fishel and Elaine Hendrix by two. Then you get to the middle of the pack where you find Robert Irwin, having slipped this week, tied with Hilaria Baldwin and Scott Hoying.

Of that group, we'd argue that Elaine might have had the weakest dance, though we weren't nearly as enamored with Danielle's performance as the judges were. Or is it possible the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives voting bloc could be split between Jen and Whitney Leavitt (tied at the top of the leaderboard with Jordan Chiles). If that's the case, we're definitely worried for Jen. But our final guess for elimination this week was Lauren.

The first couples to get the good news were Jordan & Ezra and Jen & Jan, so the Mormon Wives were both feeling the love (surely!). They were followed by Whitney & Mark (of course), Robert & Witney, and Hilaria & Gleb. Alix & Val got the good news next, followed by Scott & Rylee, Dylan & Daniella, and Danielle & Pasha.

That left a certainly possible bottom three ("though not necessarily) of Elaine & Alan, Lauren & Brandon, and Andy & Emma. We were still confident it would be "surprising" good news for Andy, but it could have gone either way between Elaine and Lauren. Lauren probably has a larger following among TikTok fans, but Elaine would have more of the older demographics -- that watch this show.

In the final moments of the show, the news came down that it was indeed Lauren & Brandon leaving the competition tonight. There is plenty of fodder for conspiracy theorists in this elimination, but there's also the fact that she was extremely disappointed in what looked like a lackluster performance tonight.

When asked how she was feeling on live television, Lauren said through a very forced smile, "Pissed." But she had nothing but love for Brandon, who couldn't help but laugh at her surprising answer, or for the rest of the cast as shown by big hugs for both Andy and Elaine in the final moments.

Dancing with the Stars returns for "Disney Night" next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.