Dancing With the Stars is airing one of its most polarizing seasons, and much of the commentary so far has focused on the judges’ critiques.
Every week, the panel of judges offers feedback on routines, and each gives the competitors a score.
Former pro dancer and troupe member Lindsay Arnold hasn’t been on the show over the last three seasons but remains very much invested in the ballroom drama.
Her younger sister, Rylee Arnold, is a favorite to win this season alongside Stephen Nedoroscik, so she’s been paying close attention to the judges.
Lindsay recently took to TikTok while going through her makeup routine and offered her unfiltered sentiments on Season 33.
“All the respect to our judges just wanted to give you all maybe a new perspective on this,” she started.
“Get ready with me while I address the kind of interesting judges’ scores that we’re seeing on Dancing with the Stars.”
Lindsay is confused by the scores on DWTS
The 30-year-old explained that some scores were “a bit confusing.”
“Week after week, I find myself just kind of like, ‘Wait, what?’ Week one, we saw some pretty high scores. I was actually at that show, and I remember being shocked.”
She continued, “I feel like maybe they wanted to just keep the energy super positive and not have any audience members booing or having it be this big, dramatic, negative thing. So they were being nice and giving higher scores, which I love.”
Lindsay believes many competitors started with sevens and eights, and “there’s not a lot of room to grow from there.”
Lindsay believes that one of the biggest issues is that the judges aren’t using direct comparisons and scoring individually.
The former pro dancer was confused about the lack of 10s before Tuesday’s Halloween episode, noting that “we have so many good dancers this season.”
“They don’t want to give out that 10 because then they have nowhere to go,” she continued.
“With that being said, the judges’ job on Dancing With the Stars is very hard. Also, it’s like, no matter what they do, not everyone’s going to be happy.”
Lindsay’s view of the situation is interesting because she’s giving her thoughts from an outside perspective, even though she hasn’t been on the show in a minute.
But the show has had a lot of talent this season, so it makes sense that some people who started strong couldn’t get 10s off the bat because it would be difficult for them to keep up the momentum.
DWTS needs a revamp
Season 33 of the series has highlighted the need for changes because some feedback has been inconsistent.
Carrie Ann Inaba has taken a lot of heat for her feedback this season, but even the show’s guest judges have brought their share of controversy.
Gene Simmons initially seemed like an inspired choice for the show, but his comments offended viewers and the contestants.
The series needs to improve its overall feedback quality, which largely means picking the right guest judges.
We still have a handful of episodes this season, so we’re sure there will be far more controversies.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC. You can stream full episodes on Disney+ and Hulu.