‘Dancing With the Stars’: Derek Hough Explains Why He Saved Carole Baskin Over Charles Oakley in First Elimination

Following the premiere night of Dancing with the Stars, several fans have already flooded social media with who they’re in favor of, and new judge Derek Hough made it clear he wants to see Carole Baskin continue in the competition. While the first night didn’t include any eliminations, the second week, everyone stepped it up a notch knowing that going home was a real possibility. After it came down to former New York Knick’s player Charles Oakley and Baskin, fellow judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli had time to explain who they chose to keep safe, but Hough had to make a rather quick decision and has now explained why he went with the Big Cat Rescue owner.

“It really was the progress that [Carole] had made,” he confessed to TV Insider. He continued to say that he got lost in the “beauty and grace” she offered on the dance floor with partner Pasha Pashkov, adding, “I had to look at it from that perspective.” He mentioned that Oakley “came ready to do the show” and admitted he always appreciates that. The two did get some time to chat after the show, and it sounds like there are no hard feelings.

Hough, who was introduced as a pro dancer during Season 5 and quickly became a six-time Mirror Ball champion, joked that the other judges had a little more time to explain their reasoning behind choosing either Oakley or Baskin, but he was left with a few seconds to just make a split-second decision. “Carrie Ann was like, ‘Let me tell you why [I’m choosing who I’m choosing] and Bruno’s like, ‘Let me tell you why…’ Then it was, ‘Derek you have to give us an answer!’” Of course, he chuckled while explaining that, and followed up by saying, “Hey, it’s my job. I can’t complain.”

This week on DWTS, each contestant and their dance partner will fit the Disney theme for Disney week. As they all take to the ballroom, they’ll dance to songs from popular classics like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Cinderella. Of course, Baskin will go along with a cat theme again. Since premiere night, fans have only hoped that each week Baskin would lean into her love for cats by either dressing like one or dancing to a song that has to do with cats. Naturally, producers knew they could appeal to the crowd of viewers by utilizing that the most.