‘DWTS’ Fans Defend Frontrunner After Eliminated Contestant Throws Subtle Shade

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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 23: "Dancing With The Stars" winners Peta Murgatroyd and Donald Driver (L) pose with the champions' mirrorball trophy on ABC's "Good Morning America" in Times Square on May 23, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Harry Shum Jr. fans are rushing to the “Grey’s Anatomy” star’s defense after former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Tyler Cameron appeared to throw shade.

It all took place after “Grammy Night” on Tuesday, November 10, as the “Bachelorette” alum seemingly poked fun at Harry’s emotional reaction.

Grammy Night

Harry and partner Jenna Johnson were preparing to perform a salsa routine to Lady Gaga’s “Die With a Smile” when the pre-performance package showed an emotional Harry.

The actor explained that salsa dancing means a lot to him as he grew up around Latin culture in Costa Rica.

“I was born in Costa Rica, so like people were dancing salsa, merengue, bachata, but I was always an observer,” he said. “So I’m really excited to tap into my roots.”

He went on to say that he chose to avoid dancing salsa because of the negative emotions he associates with his difficult childhood. Harry opened up about the overwhelming emotions after stepping away from rehearsal to compose himself.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a strong emotion. I didn’t realize it, but salsa is very meaningful to me. I’ve kind of avoided doing salsa dance. For so long, I associated it with the struggles that my family went through and I went through moving from Costa Rica to America,” he shared. “But I just got a a wave of emotion of just being really sad that I’ve missed the joy of salsa dancing for so long.”

Harry and Jenna went on to wow the judges, earning a score of 29 out of 30.

After the show, however, fans noticed shady social media activity coming from Tyler.

Fans Defend Harry

Tyler reshared a fan-made TikTok video poking fun at the actor’s emotional reaction during “Grammy Night.”

“Harry Shum jr when the Chipotle worker asks if he wants salsa on his burrito bowl,” the text over a clip of Jessica Lange’s character crying in “American Horror Story” read.

Fans flooded the comments section defending Harry, with many pointing out the Tyler reposted the video.

“The hate is so weird,” one fan wrote.

“Yall are so mean to him for no reason,” another added.

“But then if he doesn’t have an emotional moment, he’s too boring? New fans always do witch hunts and make a big deal out of everything to try and vote ppl off. So lame,” a third chimed in.

A fourth noted, “Harry has always been emotional and passionate, especially in regards to dancing. It’s not out of character or for the cameras. He feels through dance.”

Harry Shum Jr. was born in Limon, Costa Rica, to Chinese immigrants. The family left Central America when Harry was six years old and relocated to San Francisco, California.

“I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Spanish and Cantonese. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Cantonese and English,” he previously shared.