Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Night 1 premiere. Watch the premiere with a Disney+ subscription and read at your own risk!
Dancing with the Stars' premiere was so big that it had to be split into two nights and, at the same time, the ABC reality competition series also made history. Granted, it's a record he may not be too proud of, as Guillermo Rodriguez was awarded the second-lowest score the dancing series has ever awarded. It may not have been the record fans expected when the premiere date was announced for the 2026 TV schedule and, personally, I think giving the Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick such a low score is a bit harsh. Especially after looking back at a competitor with a lower score.
What Guillermo Lacked In Skill, He Made Up For With Effort And Charisma
Guillermo and Witney Carson kicked off their Dancing with the Stars run with a cha-cha-cha to "Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight, complete with jumping and gyrating motions. The judges commended Guillermo for bringing his personality to the dance floor, but it was going to take a lot more than that to outlast the more talented competitors this season. He was awarded a ten out of thirty, with Carrie Ann Inaba gifting him a four, while Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli gave him three each.
The crowd didn't agree with the low score and responded in kind by booing. I got the vibe that he's going to have a run similar to Andy Richter's time on DWTS, as the latter also struggled a lot with dance routines. Guillermo's passion and enthusiasm helped him outlast Conner Leavitt, but we'll see if that continues when he's up for elimination again in Week 2.
Master P Still Holds The Record For Lowest Score, And It's Well-Deserved
There's only one person who has ever gotten a score lower than Guillermo on Dancing with the Stars and, after reviewing it, I can say Master P may never be topped. He was a contestant all the way back in Season 2 and did so poorly in a routine he was awarded an eight out of thirty.
In his defense, Master P was a last-minute fill-in for his son, "Lil'" Romeo Miller, who was originally slated to compete on DWTS, but he suffered a basketball injury. As a result, he was unprepared to compete in the ballroom, and his early-week performances showed the effort was never really there.
It all came to a head in Week 4, when he and pro Ashly DelGrosso, presumably upset about weeks of low scores, delivered a sloppy performance that gave the impression that they hardly tried. The score might've been lower had Carrie Ann not been gracious with a four, but the fact that the second-lowest performance of that night was a twenty-one should say enough about how bad this was.
To bring this full circle, I can't watch this most recent performance and say that Guillermo's was only two points better. If there's clear effort to get the moves right and there's genuine passion, I think he was worthy of a score closer to fourteen. We'll see if he can bump that number up the next time he performs, and if Witney Carson can whip him into shape and make him a competent ballroom dancer.
Dancing with the Stars continues with another night on ABC and, this time, it's going to be all of the women celebrities competing tonight. I know some people think Julia Stiles is a bit of an underdog heading into this episode, so I'll be curious to see how she does.
