Flavor Flav is clearing the air about his scoring decision.
After his rating of Alix Earle and partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy’s Pasa Doble during Dancing With the Stars’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame episode prevented the duo from earning a perfect score, the Public Enemy rapper revealed the mishap that led to that eyebrow-raising move.
“As a judge on #DWTS,,, you hit your score on a computer first,,,then hold up the sign,” Flav wrote on X Nov. 4 following his guest judging stint on the show. “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.”
Further confirming his intentions, he added, “That girl deserved perfect 10s.”
Alix and Val’s dance to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” earned high praise from Flav, who complimented them while getting out of his seat.
“I was watching ya’ll moves,” the rapper said as he stood up to explain before getting cut off by the music. “The unison, the timing was great. Ya’ll was so good.”
After offering their remarks, judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli all exclaimed 10 while holding up their scoring paddleboards as Flav silently held up the nine. Still, Alix and Val remained safe from elimination with a grand total of 39/40. And the way the “Fight the Power” artist sees it, the performance should have earned a perfect 40/40.
Rock and Roll Night marked the second week in a row that Alix and Val were close to achieving that coveted score. After her and Val’s Halloween Night Tango to Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend,” the dancing duo received three 10s and a nine from guest judge Cheryl Burke.
Amid the backlash Cheryl received from fans and Alix’s stepmother Ashley Dupré, Alix commended the guest judge for her critiques.
“I really appreciated your critiques and feedback so helpful for me as someone in the competition,” Alix wrote in the comments of Cheryl’s Oct. 30 TikTok video. “Thank you.”
Alix and Val have made it to see another dance, after Danielle Fishel and partner Pasha Pashkov were sent home following the Nov. 4 episode. On Nov. 10, the celebrities and professionals will celebrate DWTS’s 20th anniversary with former host Tom Bergeron, returning to the ballroom as a guest judge.
Ahead of the milestone episode, keep reading for more on season 34’s contestants….
Baron Davis
Partnered with Britt Stewart
Jennifer Affleck
Partnered with Jan Ravnik
Alix Earle
Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski
Dylan Efron
Partnered with Daniella Karagach
Corey Feldman
Partnered with Jenna Johnson
Elaine Hendrix
Partnered with Alan Bersten
Robert Irwin
Partnered with Witney Carson
Jordan Chiles
Partnered with Ezra Sosa
Scott Hoying
Partnered with Rylee Arnold
Whitney Leavitt
Partnered with Mark Ballas
Hilaria Baldwin
Partnered with Gleb Savchenko
Andy Richter
Partnered with Emma Slater
Danielle Fishel
Partnered with Pasha Pashkov