Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber were not fazed by guest judge Gene Simmons calling them a “steamy couple” after their Dancing With the Stars performance.
“Listen, he’s an icon. It’s rock ‘n’ roll night. It’s Hair Metal Night,” Sasha, 40, said after the episode on Tuesday, October 8. “And if you think icon, which icon would you think is bigger than Gene Simmons? No one. So to have him say that — I’ll take anything he says.”
Jenn, 26, agreed with her partner’s take on Gene’s comment. “I’ll take anything he says. Listen, I don’t listen to heavy metal, whatever this is,” she admitted. “But I know Gene Simmons, and that’s just how amazing he is.”
Jenn and Sasha earned a score of 31 out of 40 for their paso doble to Europe’s “The Final Countdown” on Hair Metal Night. After performing their routine, Gene, 75, raised eyebrows for his reaction.
“Well, there’s no question you two make a steamy couple,” Gene said. “Sasha is terrific as a professional does it every day, but all the pressure is on you. I have to say, besides being beautiful, you delivered.”
Despite his high praise, Gene surprised the duo with his low score. After earning eights from the three other judges, Gene declared, “Don’t hate me” before flashing his seven paddle. When asked for their reactions to his judging, Sasha quipped to Us, “It’s OK, Gene, you’re a legend, so we forgive you.”
Jenn noted that she’s “just having fun on the dance floor.” She added, “That was the first time I did a performance where I don’t care what anybody says because I had such an amazing time out there. And I know that I put it all out there and nobody can knock me down from how good I feel right now.”
Jenn and Sasha were ultimately safe from the double elimination as viewers said goodbye to Eric Roberts and partner Britt Stewart as well as Reginald VelJohnson and partner Emma Slater.
As the season ramps up, Jenn and Sasha have been turning heads inside and outside the ballroom. After Sasha shared a TikTok video of Jenn eating ice cream at McDonald’s in September, fans were quick to note that he referred to his partner as “babe” in the clip.
When asked about their chemistry in September, Jenn gushed that Sasha is “just such an amazing coach.” She told Us at the time, “Every week we just grow stronger and stronger and closer and closer. I really feel like we’ve built such a great foundation.”
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day.
