‘DWTS’ Fans Defend Adele Zaikman From Claims She Didn’t ‘Deserve’ Pro Spot

Adele Zaikman‘s journey on her first season of Dancing With the Stars was cut short when she and partner Conner Leavitt were eliminated on premiere night. Zaikman earned her spot on the show by winning Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, but she only lasted one episode, prompting an online debate about whether she was the right person for the job.

A Reddit user started the discourse with a post that said, “Unpopular opinion: Adele is not fully ready to be a pro. Idk but to me all TNP members were not ready and even the winner: Adele. She was literally tested with dance styles that she’s pretty good at Samba. The coreo was so weak for typical Adele. And I like her.”

For the most part, though, those who replied to the original poster stepped up to defend Zaikman. Many pointed out that a lot of pros don’t go very far in their first season, and others noted that it wasn’t surprising for Leavitt to be eliminated so early, even though Guillermo Rodriguez earned lower scores from the judges (eliminations are based on a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes). Leavitt and Zaikman earned a 12/30 from the judges.

Disney/Eric McCandless

“Well, realistically, Conner was cast to be an early out. I’m sure he’s aware of that, too. The only way to get around it is to be a good dancer, which he isn’t,” someone wrote, while another person said, “MOST pros take a few seasons to acclimate. Hell val [Chmerkovskiy] wasn’t even good his first few seasons. Social media has just made some of ya’ll think the seasoned pros have ALWAYS been good when the reality is they had their struggles, too.”

Another user pointed out that Jenna Johnson and Peta Murgatroyd were both first boots on their inaugural season, and someone else said, “I think people need to understand that most pros don’t do very well their first season. I don’t think it has anything to do with their ability to teach or choreograph, but the stakes are so much higher. There are so many things that you need to factor in for a live television competition, and all of that comes with time and experience.”

“Most of us expected she’d be an early out,” someone else wrote, and another commenter said, “I don’t think that’s a fair opinion after 1 episode. It’s her first dance. Everyone complains about every new pro that they shouldn’t be a pro.”

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Now that Zaikman has been eliminated from the competition, she’ll get to dance with the rest of the troupe for the remainder of the season, which will likely help her get used to the demands of the weekly live shows and give her a leg up if she returns for Season 36.

Do you think Zaikman deserved her spot on DWTS? Share your thoughts on the debate in the comments section below.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Premiere Night 2, Wednesday, September 16, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+