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"Season 30 of Dancing With the Stars just started, and there already seems to be a disconnect between the judges’ scores and fan opinions. The long-running ABC dancing competition show kicked off its milestone season last Monday night with an emotional montage of the last 16 years. After a brief introduction from host Tyra Banks , one by one each celebrity cast member hit the dance floor, including NBA star Iman Shumpert and YouTuber JoJo Siwa . For their first dance, Iman and pro Daniella Karagach did the jive to Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” Right away, DWTS judge Bruno Tonioli congratulated Iman on a “great debut” and Carrie Ann Inaba complimented him on how “smooth” his moves were. That said, judge Len Goodman thought “it was too casual, too loose” and “the technique was poor” but it was still “fun” and “entertaining.” Derek Hough finished off the judges’ notes by telling Iman he had a “great first week.” Even still, it apparently wasn't enough to earn him the score everyone thought he deserved. After seeing the DWTS judges give Iman and Daniella a score of 21 out of 40, some viewers expressed their outrage on Twitter. “@DancingABC you need to check Len and @derekhough @imanshumpert didn’t deserve that 4 or 5,” one person wrote . “He was ROBBED. Deserved such better scores. This was such a fun routine and he killed it for his height and first dance,” another added . “Iman was amazing!!! Why so tough on him? He was so fun! His foot work was on point. That was a HARD dance. Disappointed in their scores. @imanshumpert We are rooting for you!!!” a different fan said . What’s more, Iman’s fellow NBA players also sent him heartwarming messages after his first night. “Ayyyyeeeeeee!!!!!! Let’s go @imanshumpert! Make sure y’all go vote for him ASAP!” LeBron James tweeted . “Elite activity. Salute god,” Kevin Durant wrote . On the other hand, many thought that JoJo and her pro dance partner Jenna Johnson 's score didn’t add up. The duo danced the quickstep to “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet and even though Jenna had a slip, the judges still gave them the highest score of the night, 29 out of 40. Bruno and Carrie Ann pointed out how well JoJo helped Jenna quickly recover from the mistake. Len was impressed by her “enthusiasm” and Derek told JoJo she “was born for Dancing With the Stars .” “Really they have a fall. And it the best score of the night? Can we say rigged,” someone commented . “She should score high since she is a trained dancer...the show has lost its way,” another said . “Can someone tell me how @itsjojosiwa scores the highest when one of them slips and falls?? Come on score it like it should be scored,” a fan added . JoJo is making history on DWTS as a member of the first same-sex pairing on the show. When the news was revealed that she would be part of the star-studded celebrity cast, several folks were quick to speak out about her coming from a professional dance background (JoJo first rose to fame as a performer on Lifetime’s Dance Moms ). Speaking on Good Morning America , JoJo shared that despite all of her years on the reality TV show, DWTS would still be new terrain for her. “I think it’s going to be interesting to see because I am a trained dancer and that’s no secret, and I’ve been a dancer my whole life, but never in this land,” she said on GMA . “I’ve never done ballroom, I’ve never done anything Latin, so it’s going to be totally different.” This season is already off to a strong start, and we can't wait to see what Iman and JoJo do next."
<https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a37755602/dancing-with-the-stars-2021-jojo-siwa-iman-shumpert-reaction/>