Dedication Night on Dancing With the Stars brought some confusion from fans as well as tears, but it also gave a fourth judge in former pro and two-time Mirrorball champ Kym Johnson, who joined the ABC panel as a guest–and fans now want her to be a permanent addition to the show.
Kym, who won the Mirrorball with Donny Osmond and Hines Ward, wowed fans with her critiques and comments throughout the night, as she gave compliments but also helpful tips to the celebrities on ways to improve their future performances.
And while fans found themselves perking up their ears at one point with Derek Hough’s accidental slip-up, many found themselves longing for Kym, who married her former partner Robert Herjavec, to join the show on a regular basis.
Several fans praised her on social media, and many even began petitioning for her to be added to the show’s panel on a permanent basis.
But while some felt she would make a perfect fourth judge, others called for her to be the cause of a shake-up–and replace some of the ones currently there.
The current panel consists of Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, who have been with the show since it began, with six-time Mirrorball champ Hough now serving as head judge following Len Goodman’s death from cancer.
Hough initially joined the panel in Goodman’s last seasons, giving the show four judges total, and many felt that Johnson could bring a good balance if the show brought that back.
“Her constructive criticism and suggestions for everyone are amazing. She offers real suggestions in easily understandable ways fo the contestants,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“I was just thinking this! Completely agree. Her feedback is constructive and helpful and she’s so sincere while giving it,” a second said.
“Kym needs to be a permanent addition on the judges panel,” a third added.
However, many others took to the forum to specifically slam Hough, who they said was a “weak” judge.
“Honestly with the way this season is going I would say replace Derek,” one person said “Blasphemous I know but I feel like CAI has shockingly been giving the fairest scores and best feedback this season.”
“Seeing Kym tonight showed how weak as a judge Derek really is,” another said. “Why is Derek even on the panel if he never offers any critique, instead just trying to be everyone’s friends, using buzzwords?”
“Derek is honestly a horrible replacement for Len,” a third added.
However, many felt she would be a better replacement for Inaba, who fans have long expressed dislike for.
“Im obsessed with her, omg. I feel like a total traitor to the long term traditions but oh my god, CAI is out, Kim is 100x better,” one person said.
“Facts, I’m tired of Carrie Ann and I feel a lot of her feedback isn’t that helpful for anyone. She just says ‘mmmm I didn’t like it try again next week,” another wrote.
“Much more helpful than CA’s useless comments of ‘you’re doing something weird with your arm! Work on it!’” a third added.
“Carrie Ann is the most useless judge. I wouldn’t say she adds anything as a judge,” a fourth shared.
The show hasn’t announced any plans to change things up in the future, though it wouldn’t be unheard of, as the judges’ panel has had some tweaks over the years.
Before her current role as a co-host, Julianne Hough served as fourth member of the judges’ panel alongside Inaba, Tonioli and Goodman in Seasons 19, 20, 23 and 24, and as a judge with just Inaba and Tonioli in Season 21. Derek, meanwhile, joined as a permanent addition to the panel in Season 29, which featured four judges until after Goodman announced his retirement after Season 31.
The show has also seen several shakeups with pro dancers, as well as the hosts.
Tom Bergeron hosted the show from Seasons 1-28, with Lisa Canning, Samantha Harris, Brooke Burke and Erin Andrews all serving as co-hosts alongside him throughout the years. They were both let go after Season 28 and replaced with Tyra Banks, who helmed the show solo in Seasons 29 and 30, before Alfonso Ribiero joined as a co-host in Season 31.
After Banks departed following Season 31, Ribeiro assumed his current role as the host, with Julianne coming back to fill in as his co-host.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesday on ABC and Disney+.
