The Real Reason Anne Heche Stormed Off The 'DWTS' Set
The 2020 season of Dancing With the Stars has already seen some big moments and interesting storylines: Skai Jackson's emotional dance that landed her her first "10," Jesse Metcalfe and Sharna Burgess' intense chemistry, and a tough elimination on the Oct. 5, 2020 show that left Anne Heche very unhappy.
The Chicago P.D. actress was teamed up with professional dancer Keo Motsepe for this season and danced four beautiful dances over the first four episodes. In the season premiere, she and Motsepe danced a cha cha before taking on a foxtrot the following week. Her third dance, a quickstep, landed her in the bottom two, but she escaped elimination. Her fourth dance, a paso doble, however, didn't make the cut to move on to the fifth round of the show.
She was joined in the bottom two by Cheer's Monica Aldama and her professional partner, Val Chmerkovskiy. In the end, Heche and Motsepe were eliminated from the show, but it was Heche's exit that had everyone talking — and perhaps with good reason. This particular elimination was anything but ordinary.
Host Tyra Banks' cards had the wrong couple's names
The elimination on the Oct. 5, 2020 episode of Dancing With the Stars actually started with a bit of a blunder. When host Tyra Banks was reading the names off her card for the bottom two couples, she announced Monica Aldama and Val Chmerkovskiy as safe, when actually they were supposed to be in the bottom.
Page Six reported that Banks then said, "There has been an error in the control room. This is the craziness of live TV. I'm so sorry. This is live TV." She then called Aldama and Chmerkovskiy back to the stage to be in the bottom two with Anne Heche and her partner Keo Motsepe. Heche and Motsepe ended up being eliminated, and in her irritation with the mishandling of the announcement and her exit from the show, Heche reportedly stormed out of the studio, avoiding all press. A source told Page Six, "Anne was not happy — she was furious. She drove off the lot and refused to do any press."
And though some blamed Banks for the mishap, she jumped on Twitter to clarify that it was actually the wrong names written on the cards. How that even happens is beyond us, but Heche wasn't amused. Her mood had simmered by the following morning, though, as she was in good spirits during her chat with Good Morning America. Heche also said it was a "blessing" to be on the show.