'Dancing with the Stars: Juniors': Akash Vukoti's elimination on Thanksgiving night has fans feeling sad, yet incredibly proud

After his elimination was announced, Akash shared a lengthy Facebook post expressing his gratitude and wonder at reaching this far, thanking pretty much everybody involved. 
PUBLISHED NOV 19, 2018

This Sunday saw the Thanksgiving-themed episode of the debut season of ABC's 'Dancing With the Stars: Juniors' as the remaining six contestants got down on the dance floor to further their journey in the competition, by dancing on songs of their choice. These songs were also paying tribute to something or someone significant in their lives, along the theme of the festival. But sadly, the inevitable cloud of elimination was looming on the tiny tots throughout the episode, and going home this week was Spelling Bee champ, Akash Vukoti.

As the contestants performed a song dedicated to someone who had impacted their lives during the "Give Thanks" night of the season, the Scripps National Spelling Bee alum couldn't manage to earn a score high enough to secure his spot in the competition. His combined total from the judges and also the studio audience after he and junior pro partner Kamri Peterson (mentored by Witney Carson) was an impressive 23/30, but at the same time, not enough to keep him on. 

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