Dancing With the Stars handed out the first 10s of the season on Tuesday for Wicked Night, and fans have some strong opinions.
Multiple couples were given 10s for their wickedly amazing performances, and in front of and by Wicked and Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu, but only one had the honor of being the first.
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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and pro partner Mark Ballas went fourth with their Quickstep to “Popular.” After much praise from the judges and Chu, they received three 10s, with Derek Hough being the lone wolf and giving the couple a nine for a total of 39/40. Many fans were up in arms over the scoring, which immediately followed Robert Irwin and Witney Carson’s Jazz to “Dancing Through Life.” It also recieved a lot of praise for the risky routine and book-ography, but it only received a 36/40 with four straight nines.
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This also comes after Leavitt received the season’s first nine for Dedication Night last week even despite her timing being off. Between that and Irwin’s Wicked Night performance not receiving a single 10, fans are not happy, including one X user who pointed out, “robert sweetie the first 10 of the season belonged to YOU i’m so sorry I wasn’t your judges.”
Irwin was not the only one who fans are upset about not getting a 10, as Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten’s Contemporary to “Defying Gravity” was truly defying and cinematic, but not enough for the judges to give them even one 10. And people cannot get over it.
“Elaine getting 9’s with a performance that will go down in DWTS history when I already forgot whatever Whitney did to get 10’s is actually CRIMINAL LOL,” said one user. Another expressed, “I need a judging scoring rubric because how did Elaine and Robert not get a single 10 but Whitney got 3.”
Leavitt has been getting a lot of flak on Dancing With the Stars since she was announced, as she earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in dance from Brigham Young University in 2018. Many fans don’t see that as fair, but considering she’s made it to the halfway point, most of America doesn’t seem to mind.
That being said, not everyone is upset that she got the first 10 or any 10, as one fan shared, “Wow she did incredible! Super happy she got the first 10’s.” Another said, “Whitney is an incredible dancer. In my opinion, she’s the best star of all the years on DWTS.”
Every season of Dancing With the Stars seems to divide fans, and Season 34 is no different. With Leavitt closer to the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy and clearly a favorite with the judges, it’s possible she has what it takes to make it all the way, whether fans like it or not. Tune in Tuesday to see how Halloween Night goes at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.