Last year’s Dancing With The Stars was a blast. Watching Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik dish out thundering performances with Rylee Arnold was a treat for the fans. While he didn’t go on to win the 33rd edition of the popular contest, it also wasn’t the end of the line for Nedoroscik at DWTS. Instead, he was announced to be among the co-hosts who would take charge of the reins of the 2025 season. But fans are now left heartbroken as a sudden announcement has caught them off-guard.

A water treatment plant failure in Richmond, Virginia has been causing immense problems for the residents since Monday afternoon and was still leaving much of a city with a population of more than 225,000 people without running water as of mid-afternoon Wednesday. The city’s water treatment plant failure followed a brief power outage on Monday morning, January. 6, during the snowstorm. It then caused flood damage that led to filters and pumps going offline. Local authorities expressed hope Monday afternoon that the problem would be resolved that evening.

Earlier on Tuesday, city officials reported signs of improvement, as some computer systems were restored and water flow was resumed. But, a malfunction in an electric panel at the plant has now further postponed the timeline for bringing the water system back to full capacity. The crisis forced the closure of all state office buildings in Richmond, including the state Capitol and the General Assembly Building, as well as state offices in Hanover County. Meanwhile, because of the weather conditions, Virginia’s Ronald Regan Washington National Airport has canceled 57% of its flights. Under such critical circumstances, DWTS has taken a drastic step to ensure the safety of the crew.

The official DWTS account posted on Instagram on January 8, sharing its decision to skip Richmond show on Wednesday amidst the water crisis. “The issues related to the city of Richmond’s water supply are not yet resolved, and we cannot safely have our show tonight at the Altria Theater,” reads the caption of the post. Stephen Nedoroscik also reshared this post on his Instagram stories. This means the Virginia fans are also en route to missing out on witnessing Nedoroscik’s signature charm.

Naturally, it was a bolt out of the blue for the fans who were looking forward to watching Nedoroscik take up a new role at the dance show. From Tribute Night to Hair Metal Night, the gymnastics celebrity was at ease with both cha-cha-cha and foxtrot. However, this doesn’t stop the DWTS freight train that it is. Stephen and co-hosts, including Olympian rugby star Ilona Maher, have a special day planned for their next stop on January 9: “Baltimore, we look forward to starting the tour tomorrow night!” the post read. It is scheduled to be held at Lyric Baltimore.

And still, Nedoroscik’s return to the DWTS stage was highly anticipated, and the fans can’t help but feel sad about it. Despite that, considering Richmond’s situation, one fan agreed with the decision, commenting, “I think it’s the right decision to make!” This highlights that the community understands the necessity of protecting the people involved with DWTS. Others agreed.

Missing out on Stephen Nedoroscik leaves fans grumbling

Inclement weather has disrupted the city’s water supply, and many businesses still remain closed amidst the trouble. While neighbors are chipping in to help out with water bottle hunts, Richmond is fighting hard to cope with the situation. Hospitals had to rely on tanker trucks to supply water, which was essential not only for hydrating patients but also for heating and sanitizing medical equipment, according to a state lawmaker. Amazon and Walmart were among the corporations that donated water at the governor’s request.

In such conditions, holding a DWTS show doesn’t seem like the right thing to do for obvious reasons. Citing that, one fan wrote, “So sad!!! But totallyyyyy understand!! Can’t wait to see y’all hopefully soon!!,” hoping the squad breaks a leg in Baltimore.

Richmond Mayor Danny Avula acknowledged the delay but said crews are working to fix it and get residents’ water flowing again. “While we are disappointed to learn that the Tuesday afternoon panel failure has slowed our progress, service teams remain on duty round-the-clock to re-pressurize the water system and restore water distribution throughout the city,” Avula said in a statement.

While VCU Basketball will still hold its men’s game at 7 p.m. tonight, it will be broadcast live and without any spectators in the stands. On the other hand, that setup would entirely defeat DWTS’ purpose. But some fans don’t seem to care how cold it gets; missing out on Nedoroscik & Co. seems to be too heartbreaking. “reschedule asap,” requested one fan. “Hopefully it’s rescheduled soon,” said another.

“Safety first,” reminded a different community member. The adverse weather isn’t likely to change right now, and it can only cause more disruptions in a city that’s already hanging on by a thread. But despite all the arguments, are you still feeling low about not getting your piece of the DWTS action? Tell us your message to Stephen Nedoroscik and the others in a comment!