ABC A "Dancing With the Stars" pro shared a wedding update with fans.
“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Koko Iwasaki has been partnered with reality TV star Vinny Guadagnino for her first season on the show, and the two have had a hard time earning compliments from the judges.
Now, in an interview with Us Weekly after the Monday, October 24 show, Iwasaki shared that she thinks some of the criticism from the judges this season has been a little “too harsh.”
During the episode, which was part of the “Michael Buble” theme week, the couple danced the Cha Cha to “Save the Last Dance for Me.” They missed a few steps near the beginning of the dance, and Len Goodman called it “a mess,” though he said he loves Guadagnino. They earned four 7s from the main judges, which was by far the lowest score of the night.
Guadagnino Was ‘Upset’ With Himself After Week 6 of the Competition
Guadagnino shared with Us Weekly after the show that he wasn’t upset with what the judges said, but he was upset with himself.
“I’m not upset with what they say, I’m like, we did that dance 100 times, like, how come it didn’t click for that three seconds, you know,” Guadagnino shared.
The reporter asked if Iwasaki and Guadagnino thought Goodman’s comment calling the dance “a mess” was “too harsh.”
“I did,” Iwasaki said. “As in not that he was gonna go home, but I thought it was a little harsh.”
Guadagnino admitted that he did mess up the dance.
“However he wants to judge that, he can,” the “Jersey Shore” star told the outlet. “I’m happy that we recovered and kept going, and it was still a fire dance.”
The couple also acknowledged being at the bottom of the leaderboard but never being in the bottom two and the duality of that, and Guadagnino thanked their fans for putting them through.
“The feeling of love and support is a great feeling,” Guadagnino shared.
Iwasaki Is Proud of Her ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Partner
Iwasaki took to her Instagram Stories to thank everyone for voting for Guadagnino.
“We went straight into rehearsals last night after the show and didn’t have time to say thank you to everyone who voted for us,” she wrote. “I see all your sweet messages and support. I am so grateful. Let’s go another week!”
Some fans think that Guadagnino may have an easier time on the show if he was paired with a more seasoned professional dancer.
“I believe… his performance would be significantly cleaner or his weaknesses would be hidden better with a more technical and/or seasoned pro,” one Reddit comment reads. “Idk if he’d last longer (he’s got a strong fanbase and a nice smile regardless), but his performances might be less obviously… not great.”
Another person wrote, “I love KoKo I think she’s a wonderful dancer but I think it’s hard to have your first season be someone who needs a lot of work. Over time they get better at knowing how to teach people with no experience.”
Others are calling the show a “popularity contest” because Guadagnino has made it so far.
“Vinny still on #DWTS is ridiculous. He sucks so it’s clearly a popularity not a skill vote. Disappointing,” one person tweeted.
Another person wrote, “Vinny’s people are VOTING bc there’s no way he should’ve lasted this long on DWTS.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.