JoJo Siwa recently made Dancing With the Stars history, as she became part of the show’s first same-sex pairing. She and her pro dance partner, Jenna Johnson, have already been making waves on the ABC hit. Getting her start on Dance Moms, Siwa is no stranger to dance, though even she has to get critiqued from time to time. The singer/dancer is now speaking out about a recent moment between her and judge Derek Hough when it came to scoring.
Week 2 of Dancing With the Stars’ 30th season had JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson do the Cha Cha to Lady GaGa and Ariana Grande’s hit song “Rain On Me.” While many fans thought the dance was great, professional dancer and judge Derek Hough had other opinions. His critique wasn’t so much for the dance, but for Siwa having “too much energy,” which in turn caused the audience to boo at him. In an interview with ET, Siwa revealed a touching moment she had with Hough following the critique:
You know, I do really well with things I’ve been told before in my life. I do really well with them and that is something I’ve been told a lot in my life. . . . There was a moment during commercial break right before we went to elimination, and Derek looked at me and… He had like a moment and he was basically saying like, ‘I don’t want you to think that what I said means you did bad.’ Because he knows that that’s how my brain will automatically work, and it was genuine, like, ‘You did good.’
It must have meant a lot to JoJo Siwa to have gotten that moment with Hough. It’s not always easy taking criticism when it’s about something that’s so natural to you. While she is known for her energetic personality, the dancer has come a long way since Dance Moms and has turned into a true performer. She’s been making headlines this year for her coming out and just recently called Nickelodeon out for not allowing her to perform her new songs on tour. Sometimes it’s good to be energetic and passionate about your craft, or else you’re going nowhere.
JoJo Siwa and and Jenna Johnson’s first dance of the season last week resulted in Johnson getting a knee injury. Though with the energy of this week’s performance, it doesn’t seem to have done much. I can see Siwa and Johnson going far in the competition, maybe even getting the coveted Mirrorball trophy. Hopefully there isn’t any bad blood between Siwa and Derek Hough, but maybe she can take the criticism in stride and motivate her to do even better for Britney Week.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC in the fall TV lineup!