Beth Keener of Atlanta fell short in the Kelly Ripa "Live With Kelly" guest co host contest, landing in third place.
She was informed at 7 a.m. this morning and did not appear on the show. She was disappointed but said, "I had a fun time and I made some great friends."
Keener - the last remaining female in the competition - had made it down to the live top 5, surviving the cut twice earlier this week.
Yesterday, she said she felt her "Juju on the Beat" dancing wasn't good enough although she was clearly having fun. And honestly, her two rivals were hardly good enough for "So You Think You Can Dance."
The two remaining contestants are teacher Richard Curtis of Perkasia, PA and entertainment reporter Dax Holt of Anaheim, Calif. (who also worked as a correspondent on TMZ, which nobody is mentioning on air.).
One of them will co-host on Ripa's show Friday morning at 9 a.m., seen here on WSB-TV.
Keener is an actress and TV host who appeared (and whose character was mauled) on "The Walking Dead."
She said public votes were only 40 percent of the score. She also realized the other two had bigger social media footprints than her, placing her at a disadvantage. (Holt already has 103,000 followers on Twitter, for instance, vs. 2,215 for Keener). But in reality, since the majority of the score was based on the producers' decision, the show could easily overrule the votes and pick whoever they really want.
This contest is separate from Ripa's actual choice to replace Michael Strahan. That announcement should be coming relatively soon. Still, you have to wonder if this was a big elaborate audition for Dax given his existing footprint in the business.
Was this a rigged election? Of course!
UPDATE: My rather lame conspiracy theory about Dax was wrong. The teacher Richard Curtis ended up being the guest host on Friday.
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