While the Dancing With the Stars scoring system leaves little room to mess up, some mistakes still have happened over the years.
In 2016, Nyle DiMarco and pro Sharna Burgess were awarded a 37 out of 40 even though judges Bruno Tonioli and Maksim Chmerkovskiy held up 10 paddles. (DiMarco was paired with pro Peta Murgatroyd that season but swapped partners for “Switch Up” night.) As former host Tom Bergeron explained, the two judges had written down 9s immediately after the dance — which is the score that counts.
“Honestly, I think what probably happened is that’s what they really wanted to give me but I’m not sure how to describe it,” DiMarco, who went on to win season 22, told Entertainment Weekly following the episode. “Subconsciously they wanted to give me those 10s. Who knows? It’s still better for me next week.”
Nearly a decade later, in the season 34 premiere, Whitney Leavitt and her partner, Mark Ballas, got two 7s from judges Derek Hough and Tonioli, indicating that the pair earned a 14 out of 20. However, cohost Julianne Hough later revealed from the skybox that there was a mistake.
“Bruno actually put in an eight, so we have to correct it. It’s a 15,” she told the pair. “We love live television!”
Keep scrolling to see more times DWTS has made some scoring mistakes:
Tia Carrere and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Nearly three years after Carrere and Chmerkovskiy appeared on season 2 of DWTS in 2006 finishing in sixth place, judge Carrie Ann Inaba admitted she “held up the wrong paddle before” when scoring the pair.
“I’ve held up the wrong paddle once before, for Tia Carrere when she danced with Maks,” she said in a blog shared with EW in March 2009. “I had to hold up an ‘I’m sorry’ paddle the next night. It was so embarrassing, but we laughed about it.”
Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
When season 8 of DWTS aired in 2009, former cohost Samantha Harris said that she was handed a paper with the judges’ scores beforehand and admitted that Inaba held up the wrong paddle, per Fox News. According to viewers, the onscreen display also reversed Inaba and Tonioli’s scores. (Richards ended up being the second celebrity eliminated that night.)
Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
When Andrews appeared as a contestant on season 10 in 2010 with Chmerkovskiy as her partner, Tonioli accidentally held up a paddle with 10 on it even though his score for the pair was a 9.
“It’s the semifinals!” Tonioli exclaimed, according to EW. Andrews ended up finishing the show in third place.
Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough
Before Pickler and Hough ended up taking home the mirrorball for season 16 of DWTS in 2013, Tonioli accidentally showed the wrong paddle.
“I picked up the wrong paddle!” Tonioli said, according to a Los Angeles Times recap.
Nyle DiMarco and Sharna Burgess
DiMarco and “Switch Up” partner Burgess were awarded a 37 out of 40 even though the judges held up 10 paddles. They later explained that two judges wrote down 9’s, so that ended up being the score that counts. DiMarco and Murgatroyd ultimately went on to win season 22 in 2016.
Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas
In the season 34 premiere in 2025, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star and Ballas got two 7s from Derek and Tonioli, however, Julianne noted that there had been a mistake.
“Bruno actually put in an eight, so we have to correct it. It’s a 15,” she told the pair. “We love live television!”
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