 Not a Surprise 
 
 One night after Bristol Palin convinced partner Mark Ballas to forgo matching bunny costumes on Monday's Dancing with the Stars , the pair was eliminated.Ballas, 26 – who after his dismissal told reporters backstage that he was "dead serious" about dressing up as an animal pair – doesn't regret Palin's decision to play it safe, but he also points out that taking a risk with what to wear could have possibly prolonged their time in the competition.
– Bristol Palin got the boot from Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars last night—even though she and partner Mark Ballas actually did not get the lowest score of the week, for the first time in the entire competition. That slot went to Kirstie Alley and partner Maks Chmerkovskiy, the Hufington Post reports, but the audience still voted Palin out. "I had an awesome time and an awesome partner and I wish everyone the best of luck," Palin said before leaving the stage—but once backstage, she refused to talk to press, which was a little odd, E! notes. Ballas explained that she was "preparing for the schedule that lays ahead," which may have meant their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live (in which Palin asked Kimmel to apologize for all his jokes about her mother). Ballas also said he was "really proud" of his partner. "For someone like that with zero entertainment experience, she didn't go down without a fight," he said, adding that she was "more vocal about what she wants" since her first appearance on the show. One thing she didn't want: matching bunny costumes for this week's dance, People reports. Ballas gave up on the costume idea, but after the elimination he bemoaned Bristol not being more "open-minded" and willing to step "out of the box."