Photo credit: ABC/Eric McCandless.
Week 3 of Dancing With the Stars proved that the show
isn't for the faint of heart. The show lost a second contestant this season due
to injury. Christie Brinkley was the first contestant out before the live shows
even began, and now, Ray Lewis is the latest casualty in the ballroom.
DWTS continues to be one of the most physically and
mentally strenuous reality shows to attempt. Celebrities might think it's
sequins and glitter when they sign on to do the show, but they soon realize how
hard it is.
These injuries aren't exclusive to Season 28, DWTS
has a long history of injuries that celebs danced through. Some injuries are so
severe, they require a contestant to drop out.
Let's take a look at the stars who had to bow out early.
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Choreographer Kathryn Burns for This Week's Opening Number
1. Romeo: Season 2
A family replacement on DWTS is more common than you
think. Master P was the first family member to jump in to help his son.
Romeo was injured before the first live show and his dad stepped in, partnered
by Ashly DelGrosso Costa. Master P received the show's only "2"
scores in the history of DWTS. Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli hated his Paso doble in Week 4. Romeo returned to dance on the series in Season 12.
2. Sara Evans: Season 3
While Sara did not have a physical injury, her heart was
broken after she unexpectedly filed for divorce in the middle of the season.
The move even surprised partner Tony Dovolani,
who had no idea she was going through emotional turmoil. Sara left after Week 5
and the eliminated contestant that week, Willa Ford, was invited to return to
the competition. She declined.
3. Misty May-Treanor: Season 7
As an Olympian, Misty should have made it to the end of
Season 7. Unfortunately, she ruptured her Achilles tendon during rehearsal with
pro Maks Chmerkovskiy and was forced to withdraw in Week 3. Misty had surgery
the next day and Rocco DiSpirito, who should have gone home that week, was
saved from elimination.
4. Nancy O'Dell: Season 8
Nancy was paired with Tony Dovolani, but she never made it
to the live shows. She tore her meniscus in her knee and had to drop out to
have arthroscopic surgery. Nancy was replaced by Melissa Rycroft, who only had
two days to practice before the first live show.
Watch: Dance Network’s
Season 28 ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Interviews
5. Jewel: Season 8
Season 8 was a brutal one for contestants. Jewel and her
then husband, Ty Murray, would have been the first husband-wife duo on the
show. She was partnered with pro Dmitry
Chaplin and he was paired up with Chelsie
Hightower. Jewel fractured the tibias in both legs during the rehearsal
period and never made it to the ballroom. Holly Madison replaced her and Jewel later
appeared as a musical guest that season.
6. Tom DeLay: Season 9
Cheryl Burke is not
only going through this with Ray right now, but she also went through an injury
withdrawal with partner Tom in Season 9. He came into the competition with a
possible stress fracture, but continued to dance. By Week 4, the slight
fracture in one foot became full fractures in both feet and he had to leave the
show.
7. Dorothy Hamill: Season 16
This one still breaks our hearts because Dorothy's first two
dances with pro Tristan MacManus were so
lovely. Dorothy withdrew in Week 2 after dancing the Jive due to a severe back
injury, which was disappointing because she had so much potential.
8. Bill Nye: Season 17
Bill Nye technically was eliminated in Week 3 of the season, but he was injured after a fall during his Week 2 Paso doble that his pro,
Tyne Stecklein, danced around him in his final performance. They were eliminated that week, but his knee injury probably would
have prevented him from continuing in the competition.
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9. Billy Dee Williams: Season 18
Billy Dee was paired up with Emma
Slater in Season 18, but his journey didn't last too long. He withdrew at the
beginning of Week 3 due to a chronic back issue.
10. Kim Zolciak-Biermann: Season 21
Poor Tony Dovolani! He lost another contestant, but this
time it was a medical emergency and Kim is lucky to be alive. She suffered a
mini-stroke and was not cleared by her doctors to travel from Atlanta to Los
Angeles for the Week 3 show. The withdrawal was so last minute that Jenna Johnson stepped in to dance their I Dream of Jeannie samba with Tony.
11. Tamar Braxton: Season 21
This was the season of scary medical emergencies. Tamar,
partnered by Val Chmerkovskiy, made it to
Week 9. She fell ill during dress rehearsal and was taken to the hospital, where
she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism in her lungs. The judges scored her
dress rehearsal routine, but she returned to the live show to finish her team
dance with Val, Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess.
Even though she was safe that week, she later withdrew.
12. Christy Brinkley: Season 28
Now that the Wendy
Williams’ conspiracy theories of a faked injury have been put to rest, it's
clear that Christy's arm and wrist were seriously injured. Her daughter, Sailor
Brinkley-Cook, stepped in to fill her shoes with Val before the live shows
began.
13. Ray Lewis: Season 28
An old football injury reared its ugly head before Week 3 and it looks like Ray might need surgery on the ruptured tendons in his foot. Cheryl recruited Season 24 winner Rashad Jennings to tackle their Ferris Bueller's Day Off Cha-cha for the live show.
Don't miss Dance Network's 'To The Pointe' interview with 'Dancing With the Stars' pro Alan Bersten:
