Dancing With the Stars fans are feeling sympathetic for pro dancer Witney Carson after she cried following a remark from head judge Len Goodman. The 75-year-old dance instructor called Carson out for slipping on her dress during her quickstep routine with All That actor Kel Mitchell so much so that he said took away from the routine.
After Goodman called it a “major incident,” Carson admitted the fault was hers. “That was me. I slipped on my dress, so I’ll take it,” she said.
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Goodman said he still felt compelled to dock an entire point from the couple for the error. “Look, if the jockey’s on the horse and the horse falls, it’s the team that suffers, right? So I don’t know if it was the jockey or the horse. However, apart from that little incident … I thought you did an amazing job. The quickstep is a hard dance, and it was fast, it was clean,” Goodman said.
Carson began to cry after hearing the judges’ comments and during her and Mitchell’s post-dance talk with co-host Erin Andrews, who jokingly called Goodman a “little jerk.”
Fans joined Andrews in defending Carson, 26, for her rare error, pointing out that Goodman has been a bit more cranky this season than in seasons past, even despite his notoriety for being a harsh critic.
so I’ve been saying each week how Len is not my favorite this season, but he just made Witney cry so I’m DONE with him. you’ve crossed the line, sir. you are a mean, grumpy, old man that needs to stop being so crappy to everyone. #DWTS
— Brooke Ann Smith (@BrookieAnn14) October 22, 2019
i didn’t notice the misstep the first time but the replay i saw it but it only lasted for like .5 seconds and what happened was witney’s straight leg bent just a little. i also think when witney was explaining what happened, there was no need for len to be so rude to her. #DWTS
— Samantha💕 (@lovedwtsqueens) October 22, 2019
LEN CAN FIGHT ME BECAUSE HE MADE WITNEY CRY OH THIS OLD MAN
— sandra (@witneycarsonfan) October 22, 2019
“I don’t care what Len said, Kel and Witney did so well!” one Twitter user wrote.
“Ugh Len made my Wit cry tonight for stupid [nonsense.] Vote Vote for #TeamdanceWitKel,” another said.
“LEN MADE WITNEY CRY. HOW RUDE,” someone else wrote.
Carson and Mitchell still earned an 8 from Goodman, and 9s from Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, bringing their total to a 26/30 for the week.
Carson is a Dancing With the Stars veteran, having joined the show as a troupe dancer in 2013, following her performance on So You Think You Can Dance the year prior. She was promoted to a full time dance pro in Season 18 and won the Mirrorball Trophy the following season with partner Alfonso Ribeiro. Last season, she and actor Milo Manheim were runner up to Bobby Bones and pro Sharna Burgess.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo credit: ABC/Eric McCandless