"It's sick"— Dancing with the Stars fans upset with Dwight getting a higher score than Ilona

Dancing with the Stars season 33 aired a brand new episode on Tuesday, October 30, 2024. The segment saw the remaining couples compete in a Halloween-themed night as they put on unique performances that decided their future on the show.

Several celebrity contestants received 10 points from the judges, including basketball player Dwight Howard and his dance partner Daniella Karagach. However, rugby player Ilona Mahar couldn't get a perfect 10. She performed the Tango with her dance partner Alan Bersten. Fans compared their points online and felt Ilona deserved a higher score than Dwight.

Criticizing the judges' score, one person wrote on X:

"Ilona was practically in tears expecting to go home tonight bc the judges were over critical of her tonight and no one else. She danced better technically in the dance off per the judges comments, but Dwight won? The judges need to reassess their scoring habits. It’s sick."

"DWIGHT WINNING OVER ILONA??? GET ME ON THAT JUDGE PANEL NOWWW," a fan commented.

"you’re telling me they all agreed that ilona had better technique yet somehow dwight won…." a tweet read.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars season 33 disagreed with the judges, especially Carrie Ann Inaba, for scoring Ilona lower than Dwight:

"THESE JUDGES being up Dwight’s ass and giving him compliment after complement yet Nit picked Ilona when she actually DANCED compared to him lifting.. GOD THESE JUDGES ALREADY PISSING ME OFF… especially Carrie Ann," a person wrote.

"CARRIE ANN GIVING OUT 10S FOR F*CKING LIFTS BUT NOT FOR DANCING ILONA GOING THROUGH HELL AND LOSING THE DANCE OFF EVEN THO SHE WAS TECHNICALLY BETTER DWIGHT STAYING OVER JENN (WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING DANCED) BC HE CAN LIFT UP SOMEONE HALF HIS SIZE," a fan commented.

"These judges are so harsh on the women but praise the men for doing the bare minimum… i don’t understand. ilona deserves better," a tweet read.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars season 33 further said:

"she’s a rugby player with NO dance experience and she’s just pulled this off is incredible. What this show is all about, her journey has been an example of pushing yourself out your comfort zone and believing in yourself. Please vote for Ilona," a person wrote.

"So everyone’s voting for @ilona_maher because we all know she got robbed, right? I feel like the contemporary dances always get higher scores.." a fan commented.

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Dancing with the Stars season 33 — Dwight Howard and Ilona Maher face off during Halloween Night

In Dancing with the Stars season 33 episode 7, titled, Halloween Nightmares, the couples went head-to-head and battled it out on the dance floor. Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach performed the Cha Cha to Ghostbusters, while Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten did a Tango act during the dance-off.

The judges lauded Ilona's performance and her improvement. Bruno Tonioli said they could see Ilona's hard work but added that she needed to improve her footwork. Meanwhile, Carrie Ann Inaba said she was seeing growth in Dancing with the Stars season 33 contestant's performance. Derek Hough agreed with Bruno and said her footwork needed work. They gave her 8s which brought her score up to 24 out of 30.

Dwight and Daniella's act received praises as well with Derek Hough giving the pair a standing ovation. Carrie Ann gave the contestants a 10, while Bruno and Derek scored them a 9 each, bringing their points to 28 out of 30.

Fans of the show were not in agreement with the scores, since it landed Ilona Maher in the bottom three. They criticized the judge's scores heavily online as they believed the rugby player deserved a better score than the basketball player.

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Episodes of Dancing with the Stars season 33 are available to stream on ABC.