Grey beats Palin for Dancing With Stars crown

The 50-year-old Dirty Dancing actress, whose performances were almost always flawless, beat Palin and actor Kyle Massey in the final.

Grey, who was battling back and neck injuries, earned a string of perfect scores on their way to the mirrorball trophy.

Palin's cadre of voter support led to some surprising upsets, including Brandy's elimination after earning a perfect score last week.

Her improbable run to the finals had been championed by some conservative bloggers running get-out-the-vote campaigns. She came into the season finale in last place and said she was leaving her fate to the voters.

"Going out there and winning this would mean a lot," the former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter said during the show.

FINGER

"It would be like a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom and hate me."

Palin made it to the finals despite mediocre and at times poor performances.

She said it was challenging to overcome the flurry of media coverage that erupted when she was voted in over Brandy -- who had received a perfect score for her tango -- prompting some viewers to question the veracity of the show's voting system.

Dancing With The Stars producers said that "a record amount of activity" overloaded its online and telephone voting systems after Monday's episode.

The judges had the final say in yesterday's show, when each of the three finalists performed two last dances for judges' scores. Viewer votes counted for half of each competitor's overall total.