Derek Hough. Disney/Eric McCandless
Derek Hough is getting in on the fun of past scenes from Dancing With the Stars going viral.
In a video shared via Instagram on Monday, November 25, Hough, 39, reposted a clip of a confessional with season 6 partner Shannon Elizabeth from 2008. (The show no longer has pros and partners record confessional reactions.)
“They’re coming at our hip action? What about the heel leads happening out there?” Hough said while Elizabeth dabbed a tissue at her eye. “What about the heel leads, the feet coming off the floor, the horrific demented lines people are making out there? And you’re giving them 9s and 10s. Are you kidding me?” Text over the video read, “Derek getting mad at the judges.”
While recreating clip video in present day, Hough expressed his complaints to judges Bruno Tonioli — who looked shocked by the rant — and Carrie Ann Inaba.
“After 15 years, I finally got to say what I really feel… to their faces! 😂😂. Let’s just say, the early days of @dancingwiththestars came with a smidge more drama 🎭 and intensity 🔥 than now,” Hough captioned his upload. “Nobody knows about disagreeing with the judges more than Baby Derek. 😂.”
Hough quickly received laughs from past and present DWTS pros in the comments section of his post.
“Demented lines 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣,” Emma Slater wrote, while Maksim Chmerkovskiy added, “lol.” Hough’s sister, Julianne, replied, “Oooooooh baby Derek hahhaa 😂,” and his wife, Hayley Erbert Hough, chimed in, “Watching you get mad looking like a 12 year old boy is quite entertaining 😂😂♥️.”
One season after Hough’s outburst, he took home the Mirrorball Trophy with season 7 partner Brooke Burke. Hough went on to win the coveted competition in season 10 with Nicole Scherzinger, season 11 with Jennifer Grey, season 16 with Kellie Pickler, season 17 with Amber Riley, season 21 with Bindi Irwin.
Dancing With the Stars pulled out all the stops to honor late judge Len Goodman during its Tuesday, October 24, episode. Former pros Maks Chmerkovskiy, Karina Smirnoff, Mark Ballas, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, Tony Dovolani, Anna Trebunskaya, Louis van Amstel and Edyta Sliwinska returned for the routine, which also featured all of the professional dancers from season […]
Following his successful run as a pro on DWTS, Hough became a part of the judge’s panel in 2020 to fill in for Len Goodman. Hough has since remained at his post alongside Tonioli, 69, and Inaba, 56.
After the season 33 premiere of DWTS, pro Gleb Savchenko made a comparison between Hough and the late Goodman while speaking exclusively with Us Weekly — but Hough doesn’t see it. (Goodman died in April 2023, less than one year after retiring from his role on DWTS.)
“I wish I was as good as Len,” Hough exclusively told Us in September. “[He’s] absolutely irreplaceable. … His phrases and his ‘Lenisms’ were just iconic.”
Hough explained that he tries to follow Goodman’s footsteps and “talk a little bit more about the details,” but noted it can be challenging given the time restraints while speaking with each couple.
“It’s always hard, especially in these first couple of weeks, because there’s so little time to say something,” he said. “I feel like I’m rushing it trying to get it in.”
The three-hour Dancing With the Stars season finale airs on Tuesday, November 26, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. Episodes can be streamed on Disney+ the next day.
