‘Dancing With the Stars’ Guest Judge Explains Unusual Scoring Decisions
Rapper Flavor Flav caused a surprising reaction during his guest judge spot on the November 4 episode of Dancing With the Stars. Unlike typical guest judges who tend to be more lenient, Flav’s scoring raised eyebrows, particularly regarding Alix Earle and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
Controversial Scoring for Alix Earle
While regular judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli all awarded Earle perfect 10s for her paso doble, Flav gave her a 9, preventing a perfect score. This stood out because Flav also gave a 9 to Andy Richter, who is usually near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Flavor Flav’s Explanation
“As a judge on #DWTS, you hit your score on a computer first, then hold up the sign. I accidentally hit 9 for someone and told the crew I meant to hit 10, and they said they can’t change it and there’s nothing I can do,” Flav wrote on X late Tuesday. “That girl deserved perfect 10s.”
He also mentioned that he found Earle after the show and apologized for the error.
Similar Past Incident
The show’s scoring system has caused confusion before. Earlier this season, Bruno Tonioli accidentally showed a 7 paddle for Whitney Levitt and Mark Ballas, while the computer score locked in at 8. According to Dancing With the Stars rules, the computer score is final and cannot be changed.
Summary
Even experienced judges can make scoring mistakes due to the show’s electronic system, as seen with Flavor Flav’s accidental score, which he acknowledged and apologized for.
Author’s summary: Flavor Flav’s surprising scoring on Dancing With the Stars was an accidental error that he later openly admitted, highlighting challenges in the show’s electronic scoring system.