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Derek Hough is weighing in on Dancing With the Stars’ controversial new one-word critique policy.
During the Tuesday, September 22, broadcast, cohost Alfonso Ribeiro informed viewers that “because this show is super packed,” throughout the night, “our third judge for each couple will sum up their thoughts in just one word.”
Indeed, it was a busy show, with all 14 remaining celebrities and their pro partners performing, but when it came time for feedback, judges Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli were forced to truncate their usual thoughts throughout the evening if they were the last judge to comment. Inaba called cookbook author and TV chef Giada De Laurentiis’ salsa “shaky,” with little room for further explanation, for example.
Needless to say, some fans on social media were confused by the format change — as was Hough, 41, it seems.
In a tongue-in-cheek video shared via TikTok on Wednesday, September 23, Hough lip-synced along to an infamous quote from The Office’s Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell), mouthing, “I knew exactly what to do, but in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.”
He captioned the post, “I didn’t get the memo.”
Sharing the same video via Instagram, the DWTS judge quipped, “Should’ve busted out ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’”
Tuesday’s Viral Hits Night episode of DWTS saw cookbook author De Laurentiis being sent home after her salsa with partner Alan Bersten received just 12 points out of a possible 30, continuing the trend of lower than usual scores this season.
Disney/Christopher Willard Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez are redeeming themselves with the Dancing With the Stars judges after low scores during the season 35 premiere. “I feel like we’re slowly winning them over,” Carson, 32, exclusively told Us after the Tuesday, September 22, live show. Rodriguez, 55, added, “Yeah, little by little. We didn’t hear […]
Speaking exclusively to Us last week, Hough defended the judges’ scoring lower than in previous years during the show’s two-night premiere.
“I think it’s changing the value of the numbers,” Hough said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a shock to the system because it’s the first week and stuff, but for me, my hope is that over time, if [a contestant gets] a 5, you’re like, ‘I got a 5.’ Like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I got a 5’ versus like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s insulting. Oh, my gosh, that’s crazy.’”
“It’s not a reflection on [the celebrities], [but] it’s a reflection on the hope to change the value of what a number means,” Hough explained to Us. “I think when you actually look at the score, you look at where everybody ended up being placed. When you actually look at it, it felt pretty accurate.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
