Danielle Fishel admits she was stunned by Lauren Jauregui’s early exit from “Dancing With the Stars.” The actress opened up about how “nerve-racking” eliminations can be. She also shared her sadness over losing a fellow competitor she admired.
‘Danielle With the Stars’ Podcast
The “Boy Meets World” alum talked about the shocking “Dancing With the Stars” season 34 elimination during her recent episode of “Danielle With the Stars” podcast. Fishel, who happened to go viral this week for her reaction to Whitney Leavitt after Lauren was eliminated, said the elimination was “very shocking” and she was “bummed.”
Fishel said, “I really love Lauren. I love watching her perform. … Her face is just a work of art, and she’s expressive and graceful and fun.”
The actress added, “She’s all those things as a person, too. I’ve really enjoyed the moments we’ve passed each other in the halls and been able to give each other a hug and been rooting for each other.”
A Shocking ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Elimination
At the end of this week’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars” 2025, the former Fifth Harmony member and her pro partner, Brandon Armstrong, were waiting to hear their fate. The other couples in danger of going home were Andy Richter & Emma Slater and Elaine Hendrix & Alan Bersten.
Fishel said she felt “very sad” for Jauregui and Armstrong, stating that the singer’s scores were “great.”
“It’s not even like she’s been in the bottom score-wise, so it just really goes to show you how important votes are,” Fishel said. “The only thing I can figure is that somehow she didn’t have enough votes. Shocking. Truly a shocking night.”
While it was definitely a shocking elimination, Fishel said it’s always a “not so great” and “nerve-racking” experience to lose one of their fellow cast members each week. However, they do know it’s part of the competition.
Fans React to Viral Danielle & Whitney Moment
After her elimination, Julianne Hough asked how she felt. Lauren epically said she was “pissed” about the “Dancing With the Stars” results.
While that was viral-worthy, it was another moment during those last few seconds of the show that went viral. There is a clip of a moment between Fishel and Leavitt that had social media up in arms.
While the season 34 cast was consoling Jauregui and Armstrong after their elimination, the cameras caught a cheery Leavitt trying to celebrate with Fishel for making it through to another week of the competition. After a brief chat with Fishel, Leavitt quickly changed her expression on live TV.
One user wrote, “Everyone feeling upset for Lauren and Brandon meanwhile Whitney is trying to celebrate moving forward with Danielle 💀 You can clearly see Danielle tell her it’s not the time and Whitney goes back to pretending to feel bad 😂 #dwts.”
Another person wrote, “Danielle Fishel putting Whitney Leavitt in her place after Whitney tries to celebrate making it to another week 😂😂.”
A third person said, “Can’t get over how pissed Danielle looks after briefly talking to Whitney. She’s like read the room girl!”
“Dancing With the Stars” season 34 airs on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu.
