Warning! The following contains spoilers from Dancing With The Stars' Season 33 episode "Hair Metal Night." Stream the episode with a Disney+ subscription and read at your own risk!
Dancing With The Stars had much ground to cover on "Hair Metal Night" and two pairs to send home to get back on schedule for Season 33. While the eliminations weren't a surprise for me, I was slightly taken aback by a comment made by co-host Julianne Hough. I couldn't help but feel a little shocked when she called out a contestant for channeling Anna Delvey with their response, and I think it was unfair to say.
This was a more chaotic night than most, and Kiss musician Gene Simmons wasn't helping by losing his paddles to rate scores. As such, the night felt rushed, so I hardly processed the fact that Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts were sent home. Only one of the two may have felt slightly offended at the night's end, however, thanks to something that happened at the end of a dance.
Julianne Hough Alleged Eric Roberts Was Creating Another 'Nothing' Moment Like Anna Delvey
While Reginald VelJohnson has had Die Hard and other references to help float by in these past few weeks, it feels like Eric Roberts has floundered with far less support from the audience. Roberts finished his dance and went on to the interview portion, knowing he was already on the bubble to go home. This all lead up to Julianne Hough approaching for her post-dance interview and the most bizarre exchange of the night taking place.
Hough started things out by asking Roberts how he felt, to which he responded, "Petrified." With nothing else to say, Hough then asked about how he was feeling knowing tonight was a double-elimination, to which he said, "Not secure." It was at that point a semi-frustrated Hough said to the audience the following:
Is this another 'nothing' moment?
The crowd and Julianne Hough laughed through it. Eric Roberts tried to cut in and explain himself, but the microphone was cut off, and his scores were read. The comment felt a little mean to me because we know from how fans and even judge Carrie Anne Inaba reacted to Anna Delvey's exit on Dancing With The Stars that many felt she was ungrateful and dismissive of the experience. She might have been, but that wasn't the case for Roberts, who has tried to appear on this show for years. I don't think he was at fault for the interview going poorly, and there's another factor to blame.
I Think Julianne Hough's Interview Questions Don't Give Competitors A Ton To Say
Julianne Hough's return to Dancing With The Stars has gone well and brought a healthy dose of nostalgia to the series, but there are flaws to her interview tactics. Her questions can sometimes paint people into a corner where they can only give short and honest responses, like what happened on "Hair Metal Night." Roberts knew he had laid an egg on the dance floor and was likely being eliminated, so how else would we expect him to feel?
The same was true with Anna Delvey, who faced harsh criticism from Dancing With The Stars fans and the co-hosts of The View from the time she was cast until she was eliminated. What exactly was she supposed to take away from an experience like that? There wasn't a ton of positivity to glean from the experience, and I found it odd Julianne Hough would even ask that question given all the drama.
To be clear, this is not me trying to rally anyone against Julianne Hough, but I do think there's something to be said about the questions the Dancing With The Stars team is giving her to ask each episode. Perhaps there must be some questions about prepping for the dance routine, what they loved most about it, or other things unrelated to their general mood. Otherwise, getting miffed at brief responses in which the contestant shares their genuine feelings on the show seems silly. There has to be some way to prevent this from continuing to happen.
We'll see if more contestants have similar issues as Dancing With The Stars continues on ABC on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Fortunately, we're back to one episode a week on the schedule, which is great because I want this season to last as long as possible!