Former champ Alfonso Ribeiro on the recent 'DWTS' voting controversy: 'It's a shame'

The recent controversy surrounding Juan Pablo Di Pace’s shocking exit from Dancing With the Stars has not gone away ahead of Monday’s season finale, and a former champion is now weighing in.

Alfonso Ribeiro, who won the mirror ball trophy in 2014 alongside partner Witney Carson, stopped by the Yahoo Entertainment studios, where he was eager to discuss the show — specifically, how Juan Pablo and his partner, Cheryl Burke, were voted off despite being the highest-scoring couple throughout the season.

“It’s a shame because Juan Pablo Di Pace was by far the best dancer, the best celebrity on the show this season. And he goes home in the semifinals. Perfect 10s,” Ribeiro says. “He’s gotten more 10s than anybody else on the show and he goes home. There’s something wrong with the show when that happens.”

Ribeiro, also famous for his role as Carlton Banks on the hit ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, says that fan favorites are not always the best dancers on DWTS, and that that’s where a fix needs to be made.

“I think what ends up happening is a lot of people think, ‘Oh, I don’t need to vote for them because they’re so good, they’re automatically going to be there, I just want to continue seeing this person,’” Ribeiro says. “And that person, who has no business being in the finals, ends up in the finals. You hurt your own show by doing that. They’ve got to change the voting on the show. Personally, that’s just my opinion.”

Ribeiro also told Yahoo Entertainment that he understands the reasons why they vote this way given that the former champion was once a big part of the voting results. But, as a guest judge on the BBC version of DWTS, called Strictly Come Dancing, Ribeiro saw something he liked.

“They do something over there that works, I think, way better than what we do,” Ribeiro says.

On that show, also judged by Bruno Tonioli, the bottom two each week are forced to dance one more time for the judges, and the judges decide who ultimately goes home.

“There’s a time when you gotta go, ‘OK, the best dancer shouldn’t go home.’ They gotta get it right,” Ribeiro said of the American version of the show.

And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, the results of Monday’s finale and the possibility of changing the voting structure might make for good family fodder around the table. Ribeiro and his wife, Angela, are teaming up with Bob Evans Farms for a recipe video series that helps even the rookie meal preparer become the MVP of the Thanksgiving meal, so obviously he’s now an expert about the holiday.

And whether you talk DWTS or the ins and outs of doing “the Carlton” dance over your turkey and sides, remember the one piece of advice from Ribeiro on how to avoid disasters around the Thanksgiving table:

“Don’t talk politics.”

The Dancing With the Stars season finale airs Monday at 8 p.m.

Check out what happened when the highest-scoring team of the season was sent home on Dancing With the Stars:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• ‘DWTS’ judges upset over double elimination: ‘There’s no justice here’

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• Anthony Bourdain’s final moments on ‘Parts Unknown’ are a dark look at his past

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