Jimmy Kimmel’s already planning the lawsuit, apparently. And honestly? I kind of love it.

His sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez got the boot from Dancing With the Stars this week, and Kimmel’s mock-outrage reaction on Tuesday night was exactly the kind of absurd, over-the-top response you’d expect from a late-night host who’s been working with the same guy for years. “This is an outrage,” Kimmel told Rodriguez and his dance partner Witney Carson when they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! right after the elimination. Then he asked the question that’s apparently required in 2026: “Will you accept the results, or will you take legal action?”

Because of course that’s where we are now. Everything’s a stolen election, even a reality dance competition.

The Scores Don’t Lie (But the Votes Do?)

Here’s the thing that actually makes this funny – Guillermo and Witney had their best night ever on Tuesday. They danced the salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” for Super Bowl Night and scored a 22 out of 40. That’s not exactly Strictly Ballroom territory, but it was their highest score of the season. Carrie Ann Inaba even gave them a six, which was apparently their first six from her.

So they finally start climbing, finally get some momentum going, and… they’re out. Because the viewer votes weren’t there. Which is honestly how this show works and has always worked, but when you’re emotionally invested (or pretending to be for comedic effect), it feels like a betrayal.

Rodriguez played along perfectly, saying “I think we should take legal action.” Carson jumped right in too: “I think so too. Absolutely. I’m ready.” The whole bit worked because everyone knows it’s ridiculous, but also because there’s a tiny kernel of truth in the frustration. When you do your best work and still get eliminated, it stings a little. Even on a celebrity dance show that literally nobody will remember in six months. Speaking of DWTS stars handling awkward moments perfectly, Jan Ravnik just showed how a DWTS Star Turns Hough's Awkward Joke on Her with the kind of timing that makes live TV worth watching.

Guillermo’s Been a Good Sport

Look, I’ve been watching Guillermo on Kimmel’s show for years, and the guy’s genuinely likable. He’s not trying to be a breakout star or launch some second career. He’s just… there, doing his thing, being himself. Which is probably why people were rooting for him in the first place.

But DWTS is a weird beast. Sometimes the best dancers go home early because they’re not famous enough or don’t have a big enough fanbase spamming the vote lines. Sometimes the worst dancers stick around for weeks because they’re controversial or from a show everyone’s watching. It’s not a meritocracy – it’s a popularity contest with sequins. Guillermo wasn't the only one who learned that DWTS viewers take their favorites seriously – DWTS' Jackson Olson Breaks Silence on Backlash after making a joke about another contestant that the internet definitely didn't find funny.

Why Does This Feel Familiar?

The whole “legal action” joke hits different now, doesn’t it? Five years ago it would’ve just been a throwaway gag. Now it’s a whole cultural reference point. Everything’s contested, everything’s rigged, everything needs lawyers apparently.

Kimmel’s making fun of that impulse, obviously. He’s not actually calling attorneys or demanding a recount of the viewer votes. But the joke works because we’ve normalized this language of disputing every result we don’t like. A dance show elimination becomes an “outrage” worthy of “legal action,” and we all laugh because we recognize the absurdity… but also because we’ve seen that exact energy applied to actual important things.

“This is an outrage. Will you accept the results, or will you take legal action?”

The Reality of Reality TV

I mean, let’s be real for a second. Guillermo Rodriguez is 55 years old, he’s not a professional dancer, and he was competing against people who’ve probably been taking classes their whole lives or at least have the kind of athletic background that translates to dance. A 22 out of 40 is actually pretty respectable in that context.

But you don’t go on Dancing With the Stars expecting fair. You go on expecting drama, sparkles, occasionally decent choreography, and the knowledge that America’s voting system is basically a chaos generator. Sometimes the “right” person wins. Usually someone vaguely surprising makes it further than they should. And sometimes Guillermo Rodriguez gets eliminated right when he’s hitting his stride.

That’s the show. That’s always been the show.

What This Actually Means

Not much, honestly. Kimmel made a joke, Guillermo played along, and somewhere in the DWTS production office someone probably rolled their eyes at the “legal action” bit while also being mildly pleased they’re getting another news cycle out of the elimination.

But it was a good joke. The kind of joke that works on multiple levels – as a literal reaction to the elimination, as a commentary on our current cultural moment, and as a reminder that sometimes you do your best and still lose. And when that happens, you can either accept it gracefully or pretend you’re calling your lawyer.

Guillermo seems fine with it. He’ll go back to the Kimmel show, probably get a hero’s welcome, and this whole DWTS stint will become part of his ongoing character on the show. Which was probably the point all along. Not winning – just being there, being game, giving people something to root for.

And if he does file that lawsuit? I want to see Witney Carson in the courtroom, ready to testify about the injustice of it all. That would at least make season 35 memorable.