SPOILER: 'Dancing With The Stars' Finale, Winner Announced

LOS ANGELES — Shawn Johnson is adding a mirrorball trophy to her collection of Olympic medals.

The 17-year-old gymnast was named "Dancing With the Stars" champion Tuesday during the season finale of the hit ABC show.

The winning couple held the mirrorball trophy aloft as the rest of the contestants rushed out to greet them, hoisting them into the air as sparkling confetti flew.

"This has been the best experience ever," Johnson said after her victory. "I've grown so much."

Johnson was tied with fellow finalist Gilles Marini after Melissa Rycroft was dismissed earlier in Tuesday's show.

All three finalists performed one last dance, each earning a perfect score of 30 from the judges. Viewer votes are combined with judges' scores to determine the "Dancing" champ.

Show host Tom Bergeron said "less than 1 percent" separated the two finalists.

"This has been, without a doubt the best season ever," said head judge Len Goodman. "We've got the three best dancers here in the final."

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"I'm so happy for Shawn and Mark. They worked so hard," Marini said, referring also to Mark Ballas, Johnson's professional dance partner.

Johnson had a scare in March when a 34-year-old man allegedly tried to break onto the "Dancing With the Stars" set, apparently to meet her. Police say Robert O'Ryan, who remains in custody on a stalking charge, jumped a fence at the studio lot after driving from Florida in a car loaded with guns, duct tape and love letters to Johnson. Filings by her parents said the incident caused her to fear for her safety.

But Johnson shook off the incident and used her athleticism to better effect with each passing week, looking less like a rigid, underaged gymnast and more like a powerful yet graceful dancer as she gained confidence.

On Tuesday, former contestant Jeffrey Ross came back for a little comic relief, roasting the three finalists, calling them, "the underage, the unwed and the unpronounceable."

Tuesday's season finale also featured a performance by Lady Gaga and the finale of the new pro-dancer competition. Anna Damidova competed with three other professional dancers for a spot on next season's "Dancing With the Stars."

Previously dismissed celebrities _ including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, rodeo champ Ty Murray, funnyman Steve-O, singer Belinda Carlisle, rapper Lil Kim, former football star Lawrence Taylor, country singer Chuck Wicks, reality star Holly Madison, and actors David Alan Grier and Denise Richards _ returned for a last dance.

While Johnson was paid increasingly by the episode, she got nothing extra for taking the mirroball trophy, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles.

Because she's under 18, Johnson had to have a judge approve a minor's contract to participate in "Dancing." That agreement spelled out that Johnson receives $125,000 for being a contestant, and made significantly more per week the longer she lasted: For weeks three and four, Johnson received $10,000 per week; $20,000 per week for weeks five, six and seven; $30,000 for weeks eight and nine; and for the final two weeks, she received $50,000 a week _ but no winning bonus.

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AP entertainment writers Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles and Douglas J. Rowe in New York contributed to this report.

Comments

[jgzeger]

I've read a lot of viewers comments on the results and most seem to be disgruntled. The consensus seems to be that the order of finish should have been 1. Gilles 2. Melissa 3. Shawn. If ABC wants people to continue to watch DWTS they should change the rules to give the public less of a say (perhaps only a 40% weighting) in the outcome and as many of the public don't know what the f*** they're doing and to them its just a popularity contest.

[Mshonest]

Are the judges going blind? There is no way Shawn should have won this competition. Giles and Cheryl should have won. Giles is so sensual he created "passion" when he danced. Lil Kim should not have been voted off. Sorry Shawn you looked like an athlete when you danced. There was nothing feminine or sexy about you. Cheryl and Giles you were robbed.

[ChiGuy]

Never saw an episode, but I'm glad she won.

[cdsister]

End the end I thought that Little Kim was robbed and sent home early. And I say this even though I was a Ty fan. Let's face it the man could barely dance. I have to say that NO ONE CAN OUT TEXT CALL or COMPUTER a tweener! The winner will always be the one who can get the most votes. It's the name of the game.

[thinkworklivelove]

COME ON! I am sorry that I wasted my time watching any of this show. Sorry, Shawn! But you should not have won....

[Martampa]

If the judges could say who the real winner should have been it would have been Gilles 1st , Melissa 2nd and Shawn 3rd.

[Mshonest]

You are exactly right!!!

[portsmouth]

Gilles was the only dancer to achieve the "art" of the dance on this show - ever. I only watched the show to see his work each week. Its a travesty that the popularity contest with the help of the judges disavowed the true victor of the competition. So disappointing and so typical of US television shows - with producers and viewers unable to properly appreciate Gilles as the interpreter of the true aesthetic artform but rewarding instead the tumbling act of a teenager! The way she was dressed to look older made her look like a participant in a Little Miss Sunshine competition.

[michael-nash]

..And I thought it was just the Dancing With The Stars Message boards that went completely and totally polar. These are all the exact same arguments in almost exactly the same words that I have been reading all day(I KNOW you guys had to have edited many comments out of this one). There is some kind of phenomonon inherent to this season of DWTS. You oughta read some of the crap that was on the boards this morning. "Shawn is fat. Shawn is a dwarf. Shawn is having sex with Mark Ballas and Mitchel Musso. I'm soooo disappointed that MY favorite celebrity didn't win that I've decided to withdraw completely from society forever because all of you are stupid. The show is rigged. The ABC network is lying to us outright. Popularity determines MORE than 50% of the score."

[Ohsherri]

Only the most immature and/or d0mbest of our society would speak about

a hard-working female CHAMPION in those terms. That is so gross.

[Ohsherri]

Just remember this- (if it makes you feel better)
Obviously a WHOLE LOT MORE people thought that Shawna was amazing!
Whether she would have made third or first....more people thought that she was great!

:-)

[611Juniper]

To put this in horse racing terms, Gilles may have lead from the gun, but Shawn leaned into the tape and beat him by a nose at the end. Like a true Olympian, she knew how to peak at the right time. As to Gilles, Cheryl's ego ruined it for him. His freestyle was a huge disappointment.

And the person who really got robbed was "lil Kim, just like Sabrina a few seasons back.

[Ohsherri]

Oh sure, blame Cheryl.
The person who is the only reason I and many others started watching that show.
How about all those people that called in for Giles and couldn't get thru?
There are a whole host of reasons on this thread that Giles got second.
Giles and Cheryl were hot from the get-go and kept people intrigued til the end.
For crying out loud ...Giles practically won for gawdsakes! What more do you want!

[Pearlswan]

This was a great season. Melissa and Gilles were great from the get-go. I also liked L'il Kim & Ty. But, in the end, I voted for Shawn to win. My reasoning was that Melissa had the beautiful lines endowed by her beautiful body and her beautiful smile--she had a natural dancing form that made any dance she did look great (unless you watched her footwork closely). Gilles also had the perfect body form for dance. And, he had the acting ability to make his dances emotionally powerful. Cheryl and Tony were both excellent. Yet Shawn had the biggest disadvantage--her gymnastic training and age. At first, she was as stiff as Ty. She had a hard time communicating the beauty of dance with her innocent sexuality. Yet, she matured from a child to a woman during the competition. And, her footwork was always flawless. She was up against mature competitors and kept her cool. Mark's choreography was top-notch in that it pushed Shawn to grow. Shawn grew the most and was consistently good in every dance. In the end, it was her athleticism that kept her in the game but it was her growth that gave her the victory. It was a memorable season, for sure.

[Ohsherri]

Even though Shawn had the teenie fan base...she still worked for it.
"Teenies" can also be very brutal. They can pick you apart like nobody can.
If Shawn stayed stagnant from the get-go...if she never improved so much....
(look at her footwork like you said)
those "teenies" would have dropped her like a rag.
But Shawns dancing really took -off unexpectedly.
Her legwork was amazing and strong....good for her!

[Ohsherri]

This is the first season I ever watched DWTS.
And I am so upset that it's over. :-(
Cheryl and Giles were like my weekly 'fix'.
So hot. So passionate and beautiful....and now it's over. :-(

[nirak]

Shawn is a sweetheart and became a very good dancer, but I still think Gilles was the best of them all.
The best dancer or Idol for that matter doesn't always win, because the voting system stinks to high heaven.
People voting hundreds of times only comes down how many people you know.

[canadagirl76]

I thought all three were just awesome. I couldn't imagine being out there, in front of millions, cameras, lights, let alone those costumes!
That being said, though, Gilles was robbed. As much as I enjoyed watching all three dance, he was the only one to(almost)make me cry. I feel silly even writing that, but here I am. It was only during the roast that I realized Gilles was Dante in SATC! No wonder I liked him so much!

[davidwayneosedach]

And she's only 17. Put her in movies please.

[BlueBoomer]

Well, apparently if another Olympic gold winner is brought to the show, they might as well just give them the trophy in week 1...(BOTH of the other two Olympians who have been on were the final winners of their seasons)...

This was a fun season, tho' ...Giles, well...Be still my heart!...and Melissa was just beautiful -- what a trooper!... and each week when Ty showed such improvement, it almost brought tears to my eyes -- what a deligjt!...
And while Shawn showed remarkable maturity and technique, it was her partner Mark, who was so absolutely over the moon with joy, that made their win not the annoying thing it would have been otherwise...

And speaking of annoying -- thank god that "Mayo" guy didn't win the "new pro" competition!...he gave me the creeps (like a tall version of that automaton Louie, who I also hope they don't bring back again any time soon)

Finally, I hope that Edyta gets a terrific celebrity next season...there's something about watching her -- I can't take my eyes off her -- she deserves to be in the finals!