Dancing With The Stars Season 34 has brought a few surprise faces to the show in recent weeks to serve as guest judges, adding a bit of fun as it continues as part of the 2025 TV schedule. Hip hop hype man Flavor Flav and director Jon M. Chu both showed up to give their scores, and quickly learned it's a lot more difficult than it looks.
At a time when veterans like solo female judge Carrie Ann Inaba have had to defend their scores on DWTS, I'm not too surprised to hear the latest celebs judges had their own struggles on the panel sandwiched between Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. Here's what both men had to say about their time.
Jon M. Chu Was "Scared" To Handle Live Judging On Dancing With The Stars
I would've assumed Jon M. Chu would be cool as a cucumber being the honored guest on Dancing With The Stars' "Wicked Night" as the person representing the upcoming sequel ahead of its release. The director confessed to Parade that he was pretty nervous, and there were a couple of key things that added to his anxiety while appearing:
It was so much pressure, I was so scared. They didn’t really prep me. You have to do it right when it’s over. So I’m processing … and then you have to press lock before you have any comments. So if you’re the first comment, you have to lock in and know what you’re about to say on live television.
Despite not feeling prepared enough for the gig, I didn't notice Jon M. Chu was rattled or anxious at all after watching Robert Irwin and others perform. That said, I can totally understand why he was uneasy if he wasn't expressly told what all to expect after the cameras started rolling, and that may explain why Flavor Flav struggled as well.
Flavor Flav Made An Unfortunate Mistake While Being A Judge
It was clear Flavor Flav felt out of his element during his episode of Dancing With The Stars. The first couple of dances featured the judges helping the Public Enemy member figure out how to work the judging system and showing him where the paddles are. It wasn't easy, and led to a devastating error on his end after Alix Earle's dance. Flav explained what happened on X after the episode:
As a judge on #DWTS,,, you hit your score on a computer first,,, then hold up the sign. I accidentally hit 9 for someone and told the crew I meant to hit 10,,, and they said they can’t change it and there’s nothing I can do. That girl deserved perfect 10s.November 5, 2025
It was a brutal error that robbed TikTok influencer Alix Earle of the first perfect score of Dancing With The Stars Season 34. It was even more painful considering that Flavor Flav handed out "10" scores all evening, unafraid to buck the majority opinion of the other judges.
What all of this tells me is that Dancing With The Stars might want to re-evaluate how they train guest judges during rehearsals, and if they don't train them, maybe they should start. If nothing else, having a guest who feels fully prepared and comfortable will help the show avoid awkward moments during the live broadcast and result in fewer mistakes from the guest.
Dancing With The Stars Season 34 continues on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Those with YouTube TV will need to continue streaming the series elsewhere for the time being, and hopefully, there will be some resolution to that deal before the end of the season.
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