Dancing With the Stars makes the contestants work to climb the leaderboard — but some pairs have received remarkably low scores over the years.
Dancing With the Stars debuted on ABC in 2005 as viewers tuned in week after week to see celebrities learn ballroom styles with professional dancers in an epic — and often emotional — competition.
Since its premiere, the roster of judges has largely stayed the same with OGs Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli alongside head judge Len Goodman, who died in 2023. Former pro Derek Hough later secured a spot at the table.
“The judges have a piece of paper on their desk. After each dance, they’ll write down their score. The piece of paper is then run frantically to the control room,” producer Joe Sungkur told Business Insider in 2018. “Standards and practices from ABC then verifies that everything is fair and checks those scores, and we then go to the judges to reveal their scoring and we double-check that the score they hold up reflects the score they wrote down.”
In 2025, DWTS went through a scoring mishap that shed more light into how judges lock in their choices. Cohost Alfonso Albeiro explained to the audience that the judges have to input their scores before holding up their paddles. The score they input is the one that will be counted — instead of what is on their paddle.
Keep scrolling to see the lowest scores in Dancing With the Stars history:
Master P
Season 2 made DWTS history when the rapper and pro Ashly DelGrosso were awarded 8 out of 30 four weeks into the competition, resulting in their elimination.
Lamar Odom
The former professional basketball player, who was paired up with pro Peta Murgatroyd during season 28, had a rocky start with a score of 11 out of 30 on his first week.
Carole Baskin
Season 29 featured the Tiger King star and Pasha Pashkov, who kicked off their first week with a score of 11 out of 30.
Martin Kove
During season 30, the Karate Kid actor and pro Britt Stewart were awarded 13 out of 40 on Week 1.
Guillermo Rodriguez
Season 35 left viewers divided after the Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick and Witney Carson earned a total score of 10 out of 30 during their debut.
Michael Bolton
The singer and pro partner Chelsie Hightower only got a 12 out of 30 for their Week 2 jive prior to being sent home.
Steve Wozniak
The Apple cofounder consistently scored low with Karina Smirnoff, getting totals of just 13, 12 and 10 during his stint.
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