‘Shocked’ Former DWTS Pro Weighs in on Judges’ Scores

Former “Dancing With the Stars” pro Lindsay Arnold has addressed the scoring on season 33 of the popular dance competition show. Heading into week 7, no one had received a score of 10, which has left a lot of people confused. This changed for week 8, though no one has received a perfect score yet this season.

The leaderboard has been all tied up with three couples at the top and three or four at the bottom, all hovering around the same numbers. No one really seems to have an edge this season, despite fans thinking there are some clear frontrunners.

Arnold took some time to share some insight from a pro’s perspective.

Lindsay Arnold Thinks There ‘Needs to Be Some Direct Comparison’

In a video posted on TikTok, Arnold explained her take on why the judges haven’t handed out any 10s.

“I’m gonna share my take on what I think is happening this season,” she said during a GRWM (get ready with me).

“Week after week, I find myself just kind of like, ‘Wait, what?’ Week one, we saw some pretty high scores. I was actually at that show and I remember being shocked. … I feel like maybe they wanted to just keep the energy super positive and not have any audience members booing or having it be this big, dramatic, negative thing. So they were being nice and giving higher scores, which I love. I think that’s great,” she added.

“For a lot of the dancing couples who are really, really good, if they already started at a seven or even an eight, there’s not a lot of room to grow from there. And the dancers that started really good, for the most part, are staying really good,” she said.

“At this point in the competition … I do feel like there needs to be some direct comparison. And when we’re seeing eights given out to one couple and eights given out to another, in my mind, a lot of times I’m like, ‘OK, but those weren’t equal dances,'” she continued.

“One thing I am a little bit confused by is how we haven’t seen a 10 yet. I feel like because we do have so many good dancers this season, they don’t wanna give out that 10 because then they have nowhere to go,” she said.

Arnold concluded by praising the judges and noting that they don’t have an easy job.

Fans Reacted to Lindsay Arnold’s Comments on TikTok

Shortly after Arnold uploaded her video, dozens of people commented on her post.

“Joey and Jenna deserved a 10 for the Disney dance,” one person wrote. Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson had one of the most popular dances of the season so far. Their Samba to “Trashin’ The Camp” from “Tarzan” is still being talked about by fans.

“They are DEFINITELY judging them on individual scales!! It’s frustrating,” someone else added.

“I do not see the individual judging. What is the purpose of a leaderboard…or placements or even a winner in terms of scores,” a third TikTok user said.

“Rylee and Stephen have continued to improve and they were excellent!!! I don’t understand why they aren’t getting recognition,” a fourth comment read.

Arnold’s younger sister, Rylee Arnold, is competing on season 33 alongside male gymnast, Stephen Nedoroscik. While they may have been the early favorites, the two have been lumped together toward the bottom of the pack.