Well, it was a disappointing elimination for many of us last night including myself. If I feel the way I do, I can’t imagine how Brandy and Maks must feel? But, here they are in good spirits and making the best of it on The Jimmy Kimmel Show last night after the show. I love how Jimmy starts off this interview saying they were “unfortunate victims” of “Hurricane Bristol” and a little later “The Tea Party Voting Block”.lol I like how Brandy holds Maks’ leg for most of the interview and he holds her hand.

And here they are on “Good Morning America” this morning very emotional in places.

Here is recap of the night from ABC and some reaction across twitter on the elimination and many people blaming politics for what happened. Brandy and Maks are also interviewed by ABC.

Access Hollywood interviewing them as well. Maks takes responsibility and also says the elimination is due to the “nature of the show” and “not everything is about dancing”. I love what he keeps saying about what this Country is about and the power and freedom to vote which his Country didn’t have.

Brandy breaks down with Niecy Nash on ET. The other couples are interviewed as well on the elimintation.

Monday there was a great interview with Tom Bergeron (Heidi’s second love, lol) posted at Movie Line. Special thanks to PureDWTS fan Sheri for letting us know on this one. Tom discusses the show this year, his favorite funny people, hosting nightmares, and his impatience with Bristol Palin conspiracy theorists. Here are a couple takes. Be sure to read much more at the link.

Which couples on Dancing with the Stars have you felt compelled to defend this season or in past seasons?Nobody in particular, but in general it’ll be at any point where I think the judges are going after them and being either unfair or inconsistent in what they’re saying to one couple versus another. Sometimes I get it completely wrong. Last week was a case in point where Carrie Ann [Inaba] justly criticized Maksim [Chmerkovskiy], and Brandy and Maks got indignant. They went back and forth, and then Len said, “Your dance was full of this, full of that, full of this,” and he was being complimentary. And I said, “But what did you think Carrie Ann was full of?” It was a straight line to swing at, but he used it as an opportunity to defend what Carrie Ann had said, and he kind of put us all in our place. “You two may have had words,” meaning Maks and Carrie Ann, “but in fact she had a valid point.” That’s one of the things the judges know that I’ll go at them for if I feel like they’re being unfair. They, in turn, have reasons for what they’re saying. They’re happy to defend themselves.

Let’s talk about this season of Dancing with the Stars. Can you gauge audience reaction during the taping? Is there noticeable commotion when Bristol Palin gets the lowest scores but isn’t eliminated? Or when—Here’s the thing. Let’s address the Bristol thing. That’s the thing I get the biggest kick out of on the show. I’m going to put on my political hat. I’m a liberal Democrat, and I state that proudly. But I have no patience with my friends who believe there is a conspiracy keeping Bristol on the show. They’ll say, and they’re friends of a similar political persuasion though I have friends across the spectrum, “Oh, well! She’s still on the show! She’s obviously not the best dancer! She gets the lowest scores!” My response to that is similar to my response to the midterm elections. I’ll say, “OK, right. So who did you vote for instead of Bristol?” “Uh, well, I don’t vote!” “Well, then, f*ck you.” I mean, basically! You can clean that up. I have no patience for that! If you don’t participate to create a different outcome — and this can be true in national politics or a TV reality show — then don’t piss and moan if you don’t like the way it’s playing out. You know, I’m sorry! I think Bristol is clearly not the best dancer here, but she’s a charming young woman who’s shown an incredible growth from week one to this week. If she happens to get more votes for whatever reason, more power to her. If you don’t like it, vote for someone else. But that’s been the part of the show that’s amused me, how quickly people are to seize on conspiracy theories when people aren’t involved in the process.

I have to disagree with Tom about the political conspiracies surrounding the show this year. Although I think Bristol showed much improvement this week and I was impressed by her dances (and costumes, lol), I very much suspect (as others have commented) that the Tea Party has influenced this show this year. It’s debatable for sure. Here is something from E Online I found on this.

“I would assume that many people who follow Sarah Palin would also be supportive of Bristol Palin,” Dale Robertson of TeaParty.org told us via email.

Wait… So, there really is an organized, get-out-the-phone-vote effort on behalf of the somewhat-coordinated daughter of the Mama Grizzly in Chief?! Former DWTS competitor Marissa Jaret Winokur was dead-on in the New York Post?! (“I think Bristol is going to keep advancing because the Republicans are going to keep voting for her,” Winokur said.)

Er, no, not exactly.

“Bristol has done a great job,” Robertson said, “but I trust people to be objective in their decision-making rather than subjective.”

And so it went with the handful of Tea Partiers we talked to today—including the guy who all but hung up on us on account of he was kinda ticked we were asking him about DWTS.

Bristol also responds to people who say that politics give her a dancing advantage on the show which she doesn’t agree with.

More of the same here after the Results addressing criticisms and more.

Mark has posted a new blog on USA Today. Here is take from it. Be sure to read the link for more. (Heidi’s Note: I can hear the screams of laughter now as people read that Mark thinks Shawn was an underdog. LOL!!)

I’m so very grateful to our fans! Thanks to our supporters, we’re able to continue on. We’ve been working hard and are happy to be here. Aside from doing the best we can it truly is out of our hands. That’s why it’s such an honor to have the opportunity to make a run at the mirror ball trophy. And once you get to the final, all bets are off. I’ve been there with Shawn (Johnson, who won Season Eight) as the underdog. It’s anyone’s game!

As you can imagine, it’s been somewhat tense backstage. These past few days, I’ve pretty much turned on my iPod on and chilled out. The goal is to stay upbeat and loose. All of the couples deal with the pressure differently, but most of us zone out. If you don’t try to distract your mind, you’ll go crazy!

Take last week, for example. Before the Results Show. After I went to makeup, I returned to my trailer to change into my show wardrobe. I opened the trailer door and found a crowd: my managers, Bill and Steve; my mom Shirley; Bristol, her parents Sarah and Todd and her cousins Brandy and Greg. They were all hanging out, talking out their nerves and recounting all the fun moments from the season. (Plus, Mama P told me she loves reading the journal, so I have to give her a shoutout!) I’ve definitely enjoyed getting to know Bristol’s large family and they’ve been so warm, sweet, and kind to me, and I’m going to miss seeing them every week.

Remember last week when I was freaking out about having two dances? Well this week — the finale! — we have four dances! That’s four dances to choreograph, learn, rehearse, tweak, and perfect in five days. One of our dances is a freestyle dance. I’ve always had an idea in my head of what our freestyle dance would be, and I’m really excited that we get to perform it.

This is my seventh season and I’ve been fortunate enough to win the mirror ball trophy twice. But I’m proudest to have done what I believe is the true testament of this show: taking a non-performer and turning her into a dancer. And despite my previous successes, this is my most rewarding season. It feels great that all the hard work we’ve put in is paying off, and Bristol and I will do everything we can this week to give you our best dances!

I don’t know about you, but, I can’t even begin to picture Bristol being able to do FOUR DANCES??!

Lastly, here is Jennifer and Derek discussion the elimination lastnight, the “odd mixture of feelings” and more.

Kyle and Lacey being interviewed as well on the elimination and their upcoming dances.

Ok, that is all for you for now. Have a great Hump Day! xx