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Dancing With the Stars’ Alan Bersten Defends Ilona Maher After Judges’ ‘Harsh’ Halloween Scores
Dancing With the Stars pro Alan Bersten is sticking up for dance partner Ilona Maher after the judges seemingly gave them some unfair scores during the season 33 Halloween episode.
“I think we were working on so many things this week, and Ilona really did focus on all of them,” the dancer, 30, told Us Weekly in an interview published on Tuesday, October 29, after the “Halloween Nightmares” episode aired. “[The judges] were a little harsh with the scores, in my opinion, but they’re judges and that’s the point. We’re here to learn and we’re going to keep growing.”
Alan and the women’s rugby player, 28, scored 24 out of 30 points after they danced a tango to “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. Though it was one of their best scores this season, they scored the lowest out of all the pairs during the Halloween episode. Many other competitors earned multiple 10s compared to Alan and Ilona’s 8s.
Many fans of Ilona were outraged by the scores she and Alan received, as well as the criticisms that came from the judges. Bruno Tonioli told the Olympian that she improved her frame, but still needed to work on her footwork. Meanwhile, Carrie Ann Inaba claimed that Ilona was thrown off balance by whipping her head around too hard.
Alan and Ilona also lost a dance-off against Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach.
“We’re here to learn and we’re going to keep growing. So next week, we’re going to make sure to take heel steps. That is going to be priority number one,” Alan continued. “But I am so proud of Ilona because her frame was amazing. Her head actions were amazing. Her sharpness, her legs, everything was so pristine. I’m so glad and I’m so proud of her. I’m so grateful that we’re still here. Thank you to the fans.”
Many social media users were particularly upset with Carrie Ann’s scoring, which has been a consistent complaint from fans throughout recent seasons. Many viewers have claimed that the judge, 56, tends to give women lower scores than men.
“Hands up if you think Carrie Ann needs to get a grip on her scoring #DWTS,” one user wrote on X, while another fan added, “Thinking about how Ilona is sitting there watching Carrie Ann give out automatic 10s to everyone and she got 8s.”
“Carrie Ann has to be joking???? 10 for Dwight and Danny BUT ILONA GETS AN 8????” a third person wrote.
Carrie responded to criticism in an interview with Parade in October 2023, revealing that she doesn’t mind getting booed.
“I think that there’s a lot of people that have room to grow, and I think that’s what the show’s always been about. I love watching people grow, and I think that is why people continue to tune in and why they get so engaged. You want people to root and have heroes,” she explained. “The whole point is we want people to have their opinions. The reason why people get vested in this competition is because they have an opinion, and it matters. We are one of the few [shows where] judges actually hold up scores. So, what we do matters, but also what everybody does at home matters. So, it’s good that they boo. I think it shows that they’re really supporting somebody.”
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