"Shame on Bruno"— Dancing with the Stars fans criticize judge for giving Stephen and Rylee a 9

Dancing with the Stars season 33 aired a brand new episode on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. The segment saw the remaining celebrity contestants and their partners compete in the 500th episode of the reality show. To pay homage to those who contested for the Mirrorball trophy before them, they had to perform iconic performances from the past.

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold performed a Viennese Waltz, inspired by season 31's Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas' to Joji's Glimpse of Us, and earned a score of 29 out of 30. Fans of DWTS season 33 were upset that Bruno Tonioli scored the pair a 9 out of 10.

"Sorry. I KNOW the “first perfect score” should go to Chandler, but Stephen and Rylee KILLED that Viennese Walz. Absolutely breathtaking, and the judges comments matched that sentiment. They were ROBEED of that perfect score. Shame on Bruno for ruining that," one person wrote on X.

"AND RIGHT GET HIM FOR ME AGAIN ALFONSO BC STEPHEN ATE THAT DANCE UP BRUNO WHAT HAPPENED WHERE WAS THAT TEN?" a fan commented.

"Sorry yall im still pissed about Bruno killing off Stephen and Rylees perfect score," a tweet read.

Fans of DWTS season 33 praised Stephen and Rylee's performance:

"STEPHEN BEST DANCE OF THE SEASON SO FAR. MARK THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!! SO PROUD OF YOU STEPHEN !!!! HE FLOW AND GLIDED !!!!! HE TOOK HIS TIME. THE LYRICAL MOVES AND THE STORYTELLING WAS AMAZING. A PERFECT 10 !!!!" a person wrote.

"I saw so many people on TikTok saying Stephen and Rylee were being set up for failure this week since it would be hard to live up to Charli and Mark and they just proved all those haters wrong, I’m so proud of them," a fan commented.

"Stephen & Rylee got me CRYING, absolutely breathtaking," a tweet read.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars season 33 further said:

"Stephen deserved a perfect score WTF Bruno!! Where was the guy who usually hands out the 10’s and didn’t hand one out to Stephen! WTF!!" a person wrote.

"ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! I was nervous for Stephen just because of how challenging this dance is and how the message is so emotional—it’s just hard to do justice for anyone. But that was BEAUTIFUL!" a fan commented.

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"Beautiful celebration"— Dancing with the Stars season 33 judge Carrie Abb Inaba praises Stephen and Rylee's performance

In Dancing with the Stars season 33 episode 8, titled, 500th Episode, the remaining six couples participated in the Instant Dance Challenge. As part of the format, they only became aware of the song and the dance style five minutes prior to their performance.

Since it was a milestone episode, the 500th segment on the series, the Dancing with the Stars season 33 contestant also had to put on a performance, inspired by a memorable performance from one of the past seasons. Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold danced a Viennese Waltz inspired by Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas in season 31.

Rylee invited Mark Ballas to help Stephen and her out during rehearsals as she felt they had "big shoes" to fill. She explained that she was adding "a lot of complicated" choreography and Mark came along to help the pair out.

After the performance, Carrie Ann Inaba said:

"I never lost track of just watching this beautiful celebration."

Rylee Arnold got emotional about the feedback and thanked Carrie Ann for it. Carrie Ann and Derek gave the Dancing with the Stars season 33 pair a 10, while Bruno gave them scored their performance a 9. This brought their total up to 29 out of 30.

Fans of the show reacted to Stephen and Rylee's performance online and were impressed by their skills. However, they were upset with Bruno for not giving them a 10.

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Dancing with the Stars season 33 airs new episodes weekly on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET on ABC.