DWTS: She danced well and scored 20 - here's why Naz was sent packing

One viewer called it a "stitch-up". Another said it was a "farce". And TV critic Steve Braunias called it "something rotten".

So why was Naz Khanjani eliminated from Dancing With the Stars last night, despite consistently dancing well and landing third place on the judges' scorecards?

Turns out you really do have to text in and vote for your favourites if you want to see them remain in the competition.

Three confirmed to the Herald that judges scores are equally weighted by viewer voting, so even if judges score you well if viewers don't vote, you risk going home.

Naz competes on Dancing With the Stars.

Put simply, Naz seemed to have a hangover from her days as a contestant on the second season of The Bachelor, where she was portrayed as a villain.

Despite being rated by the judges, she didn't get enough text votes from viewers towards her chosen charity, Make-A-Wish New Zealand.

"The judges' scores and the audience text votes have an equal weighting when ranking the contestants," explained a spokesperson for Three.

On top of that, each dancer starts each week with a clean slate, meaning votes and judges scores from the previous week no longer matter.

After last night's elimination, many viewers claimed her reputation was unfair. Based on her dancing abilities and demeanour during the show, she deserved to stay.

@KhanjaniNazanin shame how reality tv portrays people, you’ll always be bachelor Naz to some folk - thats a shame, you were robbed #dwtsnz

— 👸🏽Kiwi Mamma👸🏽 (@JMaKiwi) May 14, 2018

I'm feeling a bit mad that Naz who can dance is gone, and David who can't dance is still there. It's politics all over again. TV3 you've broken DWTS with your stupid text voting. #DWTSNZ

— Ms WonderOutLoud (@MsWonderOutLoud) May 14, 2018

Naz is a better dancer than half those people. What a farce. I bet she didn't get in because people like to judge her harshly. #DWTSNZ

— ⛤ItchyWitch⛤ (@NzWitch) May 14, 2018

Genuine #DWTSNZ questions: #1 - Do the judges scores have any impact or is it just fan voting? And #2 - Don't people dancing last tonight have a massive disadvantage? As the voting closes shortly after they appear

— James Wheeler (@JamesJayDub) May 14, 2018

Critic Steve Braunias agreed, calling Naz one of the show's best dancers.

"There is something rotten about the show that Naz, easily one of the best dancers, can be voted off while a rotten dancer like David Seymour should stay to stink up the joint," he wrote.

For more information on how the votes work, you can read Mediaworks' four-page policy here.