I was pretty shocked when Hayes Grier was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars in Week 7 of the competition. He and his partner, Emma Slater, had such great dancing chemistry; Hayes was getting better and better each week; and, because Hayes is a Vine star with a bazillion social followers, I assumed that he would have the fan base to vote for him. The judges even loved Hayes (especially Carrie Ann)! But, alas, Hayes Grier will not be dancing with us or any of the stars any longer. Trust me — I’m just as depressed as you are. So, what will Hayes do after DWTS now that he's done for good?
First, to honor the memory of Hayes on Dancing With The Stars, let’s take a little trip down memory lane to his first dance. Hayes and Emma started with a cha-cha to OMI’s “Cheerleader,” and they earned a collective score of 21 from the judges. Not great, but not awful. There have been way lower scores in the history of Dancing With The Stars. From the first week, Hayes took off like a rocket, consistently getting better and better scores. Emma is partly to thank for all of this — she really helped him find his inner dancer. And, remember when we met Hayes’ mother and saw their tight relationship? Sigh.
But what’s done is done. Hayes Grier is off of Dancing With The Stars, and the show must go on. And you know what? So must Hayes. Here are a few ideas of ways he can extend his time in the public eye.
1. Hayes Teams Up With His Brother For A TV Show
Hayes and Nash are both famous for the same reason — they both have epic followings on Vine*. So, why wouldn’t that hilarity translate to a bigger medium? Let’s say, television? How about a young, hip network picks a show about these young, hip teens? They already have a built-in audience that ranges from Dancing With The Stars viewers to tweens who are over social media channels I haven’t even heard of yet.
2. Hayes Releases A Line Of Dancing With The Stars Dance Tapes For Tweens
If you’re an older millennial like myself, you probably remember Darrin’s Dance Grooves, an infomercial in which Darrin Henson, who was the choreographer for *NSYNC and Britney Spears (and a whole host of others), taught people at home his most famous moves. What if Hayes resurrected the concept, except with, like, an Internet-only video stream (because who would buy a DVD anymore, amirite?) and all of the DWTS players as his backup dancers. Hayes Has It? Hayes Slays Dance? I’ll work on it, as long as Hayes does his T.Rex move.
3. Hayes Tries His Luck At Judging Dancing With The Stars
Former dancers and pros of Dancing With The Stars have come back for an evening or two to judge, so why couldn’t Hayes? Even if he didn’t know what he was talking about during the judging (which I suspect many guest judges do not), he sure would look cute doing it, right? Alfonso Ribeiro, look out — Hayes Grier is here to take away your numbered judge slates.
See? Even though Hayes Grier has been bounced off of Dancing With The Stars, it’s nice to know that he has plenty of options.
*Editor's note: In the past, Hayes' brother Nash Grier has posted Vines that offended many people and were seen as racist, sexist, and homophobic. In July 2014, Grier apologized for a Vine he posted that included a homophobic slur. In addition, in December 2014, the now 17-year-old wrote an essay on Huffington Post explaining and apologizing for his past mistakes, saying in part, “From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry to each and every person I have ever offended.” Since that time, it seems that Grier has taken his apology seriously, changed his outlook, and not posted offensive videos.
Images: Adam Taylor/ABC; Giphy (2)
