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Season 33 of Dancing with the stars ended on Tuesday (November 26) and awarded former Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and his partner Jenna Johnson as the winners.

While fans were happy to see Graziadei – who earned a perfect score (30) for his freestyle dance and a near-perfect score (29) for his redemption dance – win the show’s coveted Mirrorball trophy, they were at the same time upset about the third time. place for Disney star Chandler Kinney and partner Brandon Armstrong. Kinney and Armstrong earned perfect scores in both performances that night.

Going into the final, three couples competed against Graziadei’s and Chandler’s: Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, who came in second; Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoriscik and Rylee Arnold, who placed fourth; and NFL star Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, who finished fifth.

To start the night, all the couples performed a group dance to Madonna’s ’80s hit “Holiday.” Previously eliminated stars like Anna Delvey, Tori Spelling, Eric Roberts and Jenn Tran also joined.

The finalists were then asked to perform both a redemption dance in the style assigned to them by the judges and a freestyle dance.

For Graziadei’s redemption dance, he completed the cha-cha to Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’, and for his freestyle, he performed to District 78 ft’s ‘Canned Heat’. Jake Simpson.

Meanwhile, Kinney performed the jibe for “APT.” by Rosé & Bruno Mars for her redemption dance. Kinney and Armstrong made history as the first black couple to reach the show’s finale. To mark the occasion, their freestyle ensemble consisted of all black dance professionals as a tribute to those who came before them. Kinney received straight A’s across the board for both performances, keeping her final total at a perfect 60.

Despite being one of the top dance talents in the competition, Kinney placed behind both Graziadei and Maher, who earned 59 and 57 respectively – and fans were not happy.

“I see America failing yet again in voting for the deserving and overqualified black candidate,” one person tweeted, comparing Kinney’s loss to Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election.

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While the judges’ scores are important for each couple’s overall ranking, fan votes are also taken into account.

“The one thing I learned in the month of November is that the US hates seeing a woman win,” a second wrote, while a third agreed: “America is afraid of strong women , but we are not ready for that conversation yet…”

A fourth felt conflicted with the results, writing: “I explained how happy I am for Joey, while simultaneously balancing it with how angry I am at Chandler, but also making it clear that I have no hate and literally never would hate on Ilona. BC, that’s my girl.”

Another called it “an absolute waste of a season,” writing, “Chandler and Brandon were clearly at a higher level than everyone else, and yet they come in third? Not first, not even second, but THIRD???”

After his victory, Graziadei said: “It means everything. This experience was incredible, honestly. Everyone from the beginning. Ilona, ​​​​you have been great this season. I love you. To all finalists, the judges, thank you for your patience. I did my best, I promise. Thank you.”

With another season of DWTS behind us, viewers may be wondering when they can expect season 34 to premiere. But the answer to that is complicated, as the popular ABC series has yet to be officially renewed.

But don’t worry, because a new edition of the popular dance competition, which enjoyed high viewing figures this season, is usually only announced the following year. And since 2025 will mark the show’s 30th year of airing, this is likely DWTS will do something to celebrate the milestone.