Despite putting up the second-lowest Dancing with the Stars score we've ever seen, and I mean ever, Guillermo Rodriguez is still in the competition heading into next week. It's a Festivus miracle, though it's worth pointing out sometimes the fans keep lovable-but-hopeless dancers in for the sake of fun television. That said, it remains to be seen how much longer he'll be dancing on the 2026 TV schedule, so I guess it's a good thing Jimmy Kimmel got some zingers in on his sidekick. You know, just in case.
The late night host did a bit of cross-promotion on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and had to give credit where it's due. Guillermo may not be the most talented dancer on ABC's competition series, but he's certainly making headlines, as the host noted during a recent episode.
Despite being awarded one of the lowest scores in DWTS history, he advanced last night on the strength of the audience vote. It was all over the news.
The fans love Guillermo, or at least, his willingness to try and improve. It feels like he's on a journey similar to that of Andy Richter the previous season, who ended up advancing quite far despite his bad dancing. Hey, the people like what they like!
Jimmy Kimmel then checked in with Guillermo and DWTS pro Witney Carson live from the ballroom, ahead of their live episode in Week 2. The exchange between the host and coach was great, even if it was a little insulting to the contestant standing right beside her:
- Kimmel: "How did our tiny dancer do in practice this week? "
- Witney: "You know, he tried really hard this week. I’m actually so, so proud of him. We only called the ambulance like twice. "
- Kimmel: "I notice your strategy seems to be to dance not with Guillermo but around Guillermo."
- Witney: "Quite a smart approach, don’t you think?"
It's not a bad strategy, though one has to think Witney's tactic of doing most of the dancing and keeping Guillermo as stationary as possible will backfire eventually. That said, if you try to make them dance too much, you run the risk of them gaining the reputation of being worse than Master P was way back when.
I have wondered if Witney Carson kind of hoped Guillermo would leave in the early weeks, as she's currently pregnant. The Dancing With The Stars pro said she's planning on competing as long as it is healthy to do, so that's 100% just speculation on my part. You can see her full exchange with Kimmel, below.
To be completely candid, I don't think anyone expects Guillermo to win Dancing With The Stars. There are far better competitors in the mix. That said, whether or not he does manage to do what many feel is unthinkable, he may still end up as one of the most memorable DWTS contestants of all time.
It's a win-win for Jimmy Kimmel either way, as his show gets continued exposure on the network either way! Not that he's having much trouble with that when it comes to ABC, as his ongoing feud with the White House has resulted in major late-night ratings. Granted, he also got some help from Stephen Colbert's cancellation, and I'm sure people are tuning in to see what he says about Guillermo.
We'll see what Guillermo cooks up for Week 3 of DWTS. Yacht rock is the big theme this week, so I'm eager to hear what song they choose and if we can see a big jump in his development.
