‘DWTS’: Watch Skai Jackson Slip and Pull Alan Bersten’s Hair in Dramatic Fall

Skai Jackson is shaking off a tough fall from this week’s Dancing With the Stars performance. The Jessie alum, 18, continued to show her stuff on the dance floor Tuesday during a samba to “Miss Independent” by Ne-Yo, but slipped midway through the performance, slipping and falling while kicking her leg over partner Alan Bersten’s shoulder. While the pair recovered quickly, judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough made sure the fall reflected in their score of 15/30.

Jackson has kept a good attitude about the fall, tweeting right after the show, “Yes, the floor was slippery and we slipped a little bit.. it happens.” The next day, after presumably watching her performance back, Jackson revealed she didn’t initially notice yanking on Bersten’s hair when she fell. “The way I pulled my dance partner’s hair when I slipped,” she tweeted alongside crying faces. “I didn’t notice I did that.”

It’s clear the Disney Channel star is keeping a good sense of humor about things, however, as she tweeted out a GIF of the fall and a photo of her face mid-slip, joking that it was the same face she made when the coronavirus ruined her summer plans.

Following Tuesday’s show, Jackson told Entertainment Tonight that it was a “nerve-wracking” night for her. “I was always taught that if something like that does happen, you keep going, you don’t give up. And that was what was going on in my head,” she explained, blaming the fall on the “really slippery” floor coated with confetti from a previous dance. “But it’s totally fine. I mean, yes, the judges would give us lower scores, but I’m just gonna take all that advice that they gave me and bring that onto week three, and just work harder,” she said.

Bersten had nothing but love for his partner. “I think one of the most impressive things is, is that Skai didn’t give up, she came back stronger,” he told the outlet. “She didn’t let that little slip-up stop her, and to me, that means more than the judges’ scores. I respect what the judges say, obviously, but just that determination and that passion to keep moving forward is the most impressive thing to me.” Next week’s show is Disney Night, and Jackson and Bersten will perform a jive to “Almost There” from Princess & the Frog, which they promised would be a “major comeback.” Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.