Dancing with the Stars sent Lamar Odom home. The former NBA player was eliminated during week 3 of the competition, and although his time on the show was short, it caused him to reflect on his past, including his overdose in 2015.
The ABC reality dancing competition series said goodbye to Odom during Monday’s live episode. Unfortunately, Odom and his partner Peta Murgatroyd, who earned a score of 20 out of 40 from the judges for their Viennese Waltz, landed themselves at the bottom of the scoreboard. He was joined by Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown in the bottom two. The judges decided to save Karamo and his partner, Jenna Johnson, because they showed more progress. Judge Inaba commended Odom after being eliminated on the courage and vulnerability it takes to come back out every week after getting continuously low scores.
After being booted, Odom took his loss in stride and said, “I’m lucky to be walking and talking, so this is just another hill I’ve had to climb.” In 2015, Odom fell into a coma after overdosing at a brothel in Nevada. He had to relearn how to walk and talk. His appearance on Dancing with the Stars is proof of how far he has come. Odom told ET, “My cognitive memory…just memorizing the dance routine was difficult at times, but I felt like I got better every week.”
His two children, Destiny, 21, and Lamar Jr., 17, from his previous relationship with Liza Morales, have been cheering their dad on from the Dancing with the Stars audience throughout the competition. The 39-year-old was previously married to Keeping Up with the Kardashians‘ Khloe Kardashian. The two were together for seven years before their official divorce in 2016.
Odom’s elimination came just one week after NFL legend Ray Lewis’ announcement of having to drop out of the competition due to an injury. Lewis re-injured his foot while training with his pro dancer Cheryl Burke for the cha-cha. Burke has stayed on Dancing with the Stars as a mentor to others. Back in 2010, the 44-year-old tore his tendon in his foot, and all the dancing lately started to bring back some of that pain. Lewis’s doctor told him that if he kept up with all the dancing, he would rupture his tendon. So, he made the decision to choose his health over the competition. Lewis would be the second pair to go home, and he said it was one of the hardest decisions of his life. The first pair eliminated was The Supremes’ Mary Wilson and pro dancer Brandon Armstrong.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
