Fall is upon us and that means it’s time for chilly weather, sweaters, and anything pumpkin flavored. It also means the return of popular fall television shows, such as Dancing with the Stars. This season, one of the most talked about participants on the show is Laurie Hernandez, the 16 year old gymnast who dazzled America in the Rio Olympic Games this summer. Known to many of us as the “human emoji”, Hernandez is the youngest contestant on the show this season and is paired with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. On September 12th, Dancing’s 23rd season premired and Hernandez and Chmerkovskiy danced the cha-cha-cha to Bonnie McKee’s American Girl. The judges and the audience loved them, and they walked away from their first performance with a score of 31, tying with fellow dancing pair James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess.
While Laurie’s sparkling performance made the crowd applaud, there was another event of the night that left the crowd in shock. When fellow Olympian and participant Ryan Lochte had finished his dance, he was instantly attacked by two protestors who had come from the crowd. Viewers and the judges were left in shock, and the show immediately cut to a commercial break so that viewers would not see Lochte getting mobbed. While no contestants were eliminated this week, we’ll keep watching to see if members from Team USA can bring home more gold on the dance floor!
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