Eli Matthewson has opened up about his shock elimination from Dancing With The Stars NZ, despite being in the judges' top three.
During an appearance on The Project NZ on Tuesday, the comedian said he was "really hurt" and experienced an out-of-body feeling after the announcement, saying an emotionally charged haka was performed backstage after the cameras stopped rolling.
On Monday's episode, Matthewson and his dance partner Johnny Williams scored a total of 29 out of 30 with the judging panel, but scored the lowest when the public's vote was included, resulting in their elimination.
Matthewson said being eliminated hurt more than he expected when he signed up for the show.
"This really hurt... I just left my body. I don't know if you could see, I was somewhere in the ether for a little bit," he told The Project.
"Literally everyone backstage and onstage was crying, even the executive producer of the show, then [fellow contestant] Dave [Letele] did a haka for me when we got backstage. I'd been holding it in, but that's where it all came out, all at once."
However, Matthewson said he is very happy that the show introduced him to the joys of dancing.
"This was one of the first times in my life when I was able to fully invest in something I'd never done before. I looked forward to it every day, I was energised every time I got home. It's done, but it was a lot of fun," he said.
"Me and Johnny are just so stoked because we had an iconic run and the only way to cap off an iconic run is with a huge exit."
Matthewson is also very pleased with the support viewers have shown to his chosen charity, Outline.
"It's a small charity, I think a lot of people didn't know what they did and I'm so glad I was able to speak about what they did on the show, which is offering phone support to queer people between 6pm and 9pm every evening on 0800-OUTLINE. Within 20 minutes they had $2000, now it's up to $12,000," he said.
"That's what it's all about."
Dancing With The Stars NZ is broadcast on Warner Bros Discovery's Three on Sundays at 7pm and Mondays at 7:30pm and can also be streamed via ThreeNow.
