10 of the worst celebrity dancers on 'Dancing With the Stars'
Molly Mulshine
- ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" is a dance competition that pairs professional dancers with celebrities from many different industries.
- Reality star Kate Gosselin was called out by her dance partner, Tony Dovolani, for her not-so-great dance skills.
- Other stars like Geraldo Rivera and Master P had their performances ripped apart by judges.
- Kim Kardashian and David Hasselhoff didn't make it very far when they competed on the show.
ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" features professional dancers and celebrities who get paired together to learn complex choreography and compete for a prize.
But dancing is pretty difficult, especially for stars who have no background in it — and judges aren't afraid to call out celebrities who just can't grasp the moves.
Read on for some of the worst stars who have ever appeared on "Dancing With the Stars," according to judges and critics.
Not even the Worm and raising-the-roof could save Steve Wozniak.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak really left an impression on the "DWTS" cast and crew when he competed in 2009 with pro Karina Smirnoff.
"We cast Steve because he was the most left-field booking imaginable," former showrunner Conrad Green told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "He did the most distinctive interpretation of the Worm ever seen on any dance floor. [Judge] Bruno Tonioli is still shuddering at the memory."
Master P didn't exactly kill it, either.
Paired with pro Ashly DelGrosso, the rapper was loved by the crowd — he was so popular, he made it four weeks despite receiving the lowest scores every single time he competed in 2006.
That said, the show's judge Carrie Ann Inaba counts him as one of her bottom-three worst celebrity dancers in the show's history.
"I love him but his dancing … well, you know," Inaba told HollywoodLife in 2017.
Kate Gosselin's partner said he had a tough time with her.
When she competed during season 10, Kate Gosselin's dance moves left much to be desired — she placed eighth in the competition — but the reality star's attitude was apparently what really set her partner over the edge.
Although they gave her credit for trying even though she has no background as a performer, the judges criticized her moves each week, calling her dancing "pedestrian" and saying her moves often lacked passion.
Her dance partner, pro Tony Dovolani, said in 2012 that "there was a lot of therapy involved" after he performed with Gosselin. He also joked that he wouldn't call what they did "dancing."
The first athlete on the show, Evander Holyfield, couldn't quite float like a butterfly.
The boxer, who competed on season one of the show in 2005, also made Inaba's list of the worst stars on the show. He danced with pro Edyta Śliwińska.
"He gets extra points because he was the very first athlete on our show... ," Inaba told HollywoodLife in the same interview. "He went for it and I give him a lot of credit for that."
David Hasselhoff was voted off of the show in his first week.
The actor briefly appeared on the show with pro Kym Johnson in 2010.
The star was eliminated after his first week when he did a version of the cha-cha that judge Bruno Tonioli called, at the time, "a potpourri of insanity disguised as dance," according to The Daily Mail.
Actress Mischa Barton didn't love to dance and it showed.
Partnered with Artem Chigvintsev, actress Mischa Barton was kicked off "DWTS" after only two episodes in 2016. She also didn't seem to enjoy being on the show.
"I had no idea it would be so bad," she told The Ringer in 2016. "I got told off by my dancer."
"It was like 'The Hunger Games,'" she continued. "It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off."
Geraldo Rivera seemed to barely move during the two weeks he was on the show.
His Donald Trump-inspired skit and impersonation got him points for creativity, but journalist Geraldo Rivera failed to "make dance great again," as he said he would when he competed in 2016. He performed with dance pro Śliwińska.
"Plenty of bravado, but I tell you, impressive — for all the wrong reasons," Tonioli told Rivera during an episode of the show.
Kenny Mayne of ESPN was eliminated in the first week of season two.
Paired with pro Andrea Hale, the sports journalist competed in 2006 and received some harsh feedback about his moves.
The judges especially couldn't think of many nice things to say about his performance to "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer.
"It was like Pinocchio chasing Jiminy Cricket across the room," judge Bruno Tonioli said at the time. "You couldn't have been more wooden."
Kim Kardashian had a tough time on the show.
When Kim Kardashian appeared on the show in 2008, she was constantly criticized for her lack of enthusiasm.
The judges called the reality star's dancing "cold" and said they didn't "connect" with her performances. But she chalked up her poor performance to shyness.
"To be honest last week, I cried so hard when I got home, just knowing this is SO hard for me and I really am trying — but my inner shyness is making it look like I am just not trying," she wrote at the time, according to E!. "I think I took it way too seriously and I was a nervous wreck on Wednesday."
Alongside partner Mark Ballas, she ended up being the third person eliminated that season.
Her lack of dancing skills and how much she hates dancing later became a storyline on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
Michael Bolton's jive was "the worst" judge Tonioli had ever seen.
In 2010, judge Tonioli remarked that pro Chelsie Hightower and musician Michael Bolton's dance was "the worst jive [he'd seen] in 11 seasons."
At the time, Bolton said he wasn't expecting "that level of disrespect" from Tonioli and that he wanted an apology.
"Dancing With the Stars" producers later said Tonoli shouldn't be expected to apologize for doing his job.
"Bruno's role as a judge is to give his honest opinions on the quality of the dances he's judging, which is what he did in this case," the show's producers said in a statement, per ABC. "While we respect the feelings of our celebrities and dancers, we don't feel Bruno should be expected to apologize for doing his job."
Read More:
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