Tyler Cameron has explained why he walked away from the Dancing With the Stars cameras after receiving his Horror Movie Night scores. “I thought we were done filming,” he said afterward, according to Entertainment Weekly.
During the October 27 broadcast, Cameron left the skybox while cohost Julianne Hough was still speaking on camera. His professional partner, Sharna Burgess, reached toward him as he moved away, a moment captured in Cosmopolitan’s coverage of the show.
In a TikTok filmed after the broadcast, Cameron described his reaction as a “real human moment” and apologized for letting his emotions get the better of him. He said he had needed to step away from the set.
Cameron and Burgess were eliminated later that night alongside Jackson Olson and Emma Slater. Their seven-week run ended in a double elimination after the previous episode had sent nobody home.
Cameron Says He Thought He Had Let Burgess Down
Cameron had approached the performance as a “boom or bust” week. He believed he and Burgess needed a major score to survive, and the judges’ response left him feeling that he had failed both himself and the partner who had invested so much time in him.
He described the competition as a pressure cooker and said he had wanted badly to perform well enough to reach the next round. By the time he recorded the TikTok, he could look back on the season with more pride, although he expected the disappointment to linger. He said he would miss the ballroom and dancing with Burgess.
Burgess Believes Cameron Deserved 8s From the Regular Judges
The pair performed a Viennese waltz to Annie Lennox’s “Love Song for a Vampire,” inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Derek Hough praised Cameron’s movement across the floor but criticized his frame. Guest judge Shirley Ballas liked his performance quality while pointing out alignment problems, Carrie Ann Inaba questioned his acting, and Bruno Tonioli said he leaned too heavily toward Burgess.
Inaba, Hough and Tonioli each awarded a 7, while Ballas gave a 5, bringing the total to 26 out of 40. Burgess said she watched the routine back and believed Cameron had successfully executed much of the technique they had worked on throughout the week. She thought the three regular judges could have awarded 8s instead.
Ballas later explained her own approach in an interview with ABC’s On the Red Carpet, reported by Parade. She said she considered scores of 4, 5 and 6 signs that a dancer was progressing, while 7s, 8s and 9s reflected greater mastery. The longtime Strictly Come Dancing judge said she wanted contestants to leave with specific lessons they could use.
Cameron and Burgess finished with a two-week judges’ total of 58 out of 80, including their Dedication Night score. Under ABC’s rules for the episode, viewer votes from both nights were combined with both sets of judges’ scores to determine the eliminations.
Cameron and Burgess Plan to Stay in Each Other’s Lives
Tyler Cameron may have lost a tooth, but he’s gained an amazing friendship with Sharna Burgess. He talks about the bond he and his dance partner share following his elimination on #DWTS. pic.twitter.com/1A4kjCtEKP
— E! News (@enews) October 28, 2026
In a separate interview with ABC’s On the Red Carpet, covered by The Tab, Cameron said dancing had made him more emotionally open. He described himself as someone who previously kept his feelings contained and said working with Burgess had helped him become more vulnerable. He believed that would make him a better fiancé, husband and father.
Burgess said she could not have chosen a better partner for her return to the ballroom. She praised Cameron’s respect for her work and said she now considered him and his fiancée, Tate Madden, family. She wanted to remain involved in their lives and celebrate their future milestones.
Cameron and Madden announced during the October 20 Dedication Night episode that they are expecting their first child. Madden joined him at the end of the performance, and pink confetti revealed that they are having a daughter, as Good Morning America reported.
Cameron told E! News he needs a nursery ready for their baby’s March due date. Burgess added, “I’ve appointed myself auntie dance teacher.”