Did Rob Kardashian lose the “Dancing with the Stars” mirrorball trophy to J.R. Martinez last night because of his tainted last name?
The upset could be related to the backlash against the Kardashian family, which has swelled since Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from basketball star Kris Humphries after just 72 days of marriage. A “No More Kardashian” petition circulating online, which asks E! to stop airing all Kardashian-related programming, now has more than 166,557 signatures. Meanwhile, fans of Tyler Perry are calling for a boycott of his movie “The Marriage Counselor” because Kim has a role in it.
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Kardashian mom Kris Jenner has allegedly instructed her daughter to lay low because of the bad press. “They did not anticipate the extreme backlash and the damage it would cause to the K-brand as a whole. The whole empire has been affected,” the source said.
The ill will against the Kardashians could certainly go some way to explain why Rob Kardashian, who appeared to have every advantage in the grand finale of “Dancing with the Stars,” lost to Martinez despite being the leader on the scoreboard. However other fans said Iraq vet Martinez’s inspirational story and positive attitude made him unbeatable.
Meanwhile, Kardashian’s controversial sister came out of hiding to cheer for him both nights of the finale. Kim sat in the front row for Monday night’s show, sporting a tuxedo jacket and a leather bow tie. Last night. she appeared in the audience again, looking teary-eyed over her brother’s performance. Through both nights, Kim tweeted heavily to her more than 11 million followers on Twitter.
“Wow serious panic attack right about now!!!!! Someone just got eliminated!!!” she said. “I don’t want to spoil it but OMGGGGGGGGGGG.”
She wasn’t above outright asking for votes. She tweeted, “Are u watching Dancing With The Stars? Please vote for @RobKardashian 800 868 3402.”
On Monday, during the first installment of the finale, Rob impressed the show’s judges with both his waltz and his freestyle dance, ending with a score of 57 — three points ahead of competitors Martinez and talk show host Ricki Lake.
Last night, the competition resumed with the three finalists reprising their favorite dance from the season. While Rob and his partner Cheryl Burke had a misstep early in their tango, Burke’s elbow almost knocking off Kardashian’s hat, the judges seemed more amused than disappointed.
“You even made that little hiccup look charming,” said judge Bruno Tonioli.
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While Rob’s score of 26 put him a point behind Lake, she was eliminated midway through the episode due to low viewer votes. Kardashian and Martinez went on to a challenge that seemed tailor-made for Kardashian, who had joked earlier in the season that “my butt is my secret weapon.” The two men were asked to create an “instant samba” to Ricky Martin’s booty-shaking classic, “Shake Your Bonbon.” Kardashian received a perfect score.
But perhaps his sister’s presence actually hurt Rob in the end. Despite Kardashian ending the night with a score of 113 to Martinez’s 112, Martinez was crowned the season’s winner based on points in combination with viewer votes.
But Kardashian swears he isn’t upset by his second-place finish. “I’ve won in my book,” he said.
And Kim took to Twitter to show she didn’t have any hard feelings either. She wrote, “Congrats JR & Karina!!!! Well deserved! Robbie & Cheryl I love u so much! U are my winner Rob! I am so proud!”