Most Awkward Dances Ever On Dancing With The Stars

With an impressive 30 seasons under its belt, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" has been dazzling audiences since 2005. The reality show matches professional dancers with celebrities of all kinds to perform a variety of dance styles. Stars from TV and movies, professional athletes, and even political figures have competed against each other to win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

Over the years, there's been everything from wardrobe malfunctions to on-air mishaps and baffling eliminations. Of course, there's been numerous memorable moments and winners as well. According to TV Line's ranking of all the past winners, the "DWTS" GOAT arrived in Season 22 with "America's Next Top Model" alum, Nyle DiMarco. An inspiring model and deaf activist, the contestant rose to the challenge, using vibrations of the music and beat counting in his performances.

As wonderful as all that is, many viewers watch for the dancing, the music, and the sheer entertainment of it all. But on some occasions, when the contestants took to the stage, something about their performance felt a little ... awkward. Whether it's the wardrobe, the moves, or the overall theme of the number, viewers found themselves cringing. As of fall 2022, the Emmy-winning show also started streaming on Disney Plus. Suffice it to say the family-friendly element of the platform has the potential to heighten the cringe factor of some of these less-than-family-friendly dances. 

Throw on something sparkly and come clumsily shimmy with us into the most awkward dances performed on "Dancing with the Stars."

Journalist and political commentator, Geraldo Rivera, took to the stage with partner, Edyta Śliwińska, in Season 22 of "DWTS." Of course, we have to give props to the man, who at the time was in his early seventies, for getting on stage and dancing with a professional. Sadly, the former talk show host lasted only two episodes. Were his moves a bit rigid and his technique lacking? Sure, but it's likely his getting the boot had more to do with the uncomfortable theme of his final number. Dressed as Rivera's frenemy Donald Trump, the contestant performed the Salsa to Tito Puente's "Ran Kan Kan." 

Starting out behind the presidential desk in the oval office, Rivera's "Trump" has a phone call with Vladimir Putin interrupted by Śliwińska slinking over and lying across the desk as "Melania." In an apparent dig at Trump's controversial comments about Mexico, a "Bienvenidos a Mexico" banner dropped down from his desk, and drummers adorned with sombreros appeared from the sidelines. As noted by Thrillist, "As both dance and political satire, this segment failed horribly." Per The Wrap, during rehearsals Rivera explained his reasons for the parody, "I'm a Latino — that is one thing Trump is not."

Not only did the dancing duo get the lowest score of the night, but judge Carrie Ann Inaba quipped, "Unfortunately, you did not make dance great again, but you did make me laugh." Meanwhile, Tonioli stated, "[It was] Impressive, but for all the wrong reasons."

In 2007, Kate Gosselin jumped onto the television scene with the reality show, "Jon and Kate Plus 8," so she was no stranger to having all eyes on her when she appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2010. The mom of sextuplets made it about halfway through the season with her partner Tony Dovolani before she was eliminated. 

During week 3, Gosselin and Dovolani performed the paso doble to Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi," an obvious parody on what Gosselin went through being a reality star. The dance started with her holding a couple of tabloids and tossing them aside before her partner began taking photos of her awkward runway walk. Carrie Ann Inaba summed it up simply with, "That was odd." The judge then went on a mini-rant, basically telling Gosselin there was no passion, and her attitude came off ... well, off. Meanwhile, Bruno Tonioli appeared to see something the others didn't, and felt Gosselin at least played the part — even if it didn't come through into her dancing. "[It] has to translate into movement, my darling," he told the star. "... You looked like you were walking."

For the season finale, Gosselin got a second chance to woo the audience with an encore performance of the dance — this time merging the track with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." She may not have survived elimination, but her awkward performance was at least memorable.

Social media influencer Olivia Jade Giannulli took to the "Dancing with the Stars" stage in Season 30, partnered with two-time champ Val Chmerkovskiy. On week 6 of the competition, the pair performed a paso doble for the horror theme with a tribute to the film series, "The Purge." Jade, who is the daughter of actor Lori Laughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli, entered dressed as Kimmy from "The Purge: Election Year," complete with a mask and blood-stained white dress. Wielding a sledgehammer, she promptly restrained and then pretended to hit Chmerkovskiy in the head. 

The mock murder wasn't the only disturbing part as warning messages and ghoulish images flashed on the screen behind them. The entire macabre tone stood in stark contrast to a smiling Chmerkovskiy who was apparently fine with being purged. Despite the couple receiving high scores and compliments from the judges — including Derek Hough commending Olivia on doing a great job with a difficult routine — they still ended up in the bottom two. If comments on a "DWTS" Twitter post were any indication, fans of the show still weren't over Laughlin's college scandal, in which the contestant was entangled. It potentially didn't help that her dance saw her happily depicting a homicidal horror brat, willing to kill for some candy.

How some of the show's horror-themed dances will sit on Disney Plus is anyone's guess. And this Purge-inspired routine certainly took that theme to new extremes.

During Season 12 of "Dancing with the Stars," Kendra Wilkinson and Louis van Amstel had the honor of performing the show's 1,000th competitive dance. And given the Americana theme, it seemed only fitting that the duo danced to "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Wilkinson even commented that she loved the song, telling Today she was proud to do the dance. The former Playboy Playmate had received some less than flattering comments about her lack of elegance, so the Foxtrot was her chance at redemption.

That's all fine and "dandy," but this dance needed more than good feelings, stars, and stripes. Unfortunately, it was a bit like a gumbo of adjectives that don't belong in the same pot at the Fourth of July picnic. The couple was draped in the American flag, which by the way, is technically against the official Flag etiquette code. Throwing extra awkwardness into the mix, the pair's moves were a bit juvenile and cutesy. Plus, the crotch-height cut of Wilkinson's skirt along with her thigh-high stockings felt like a major Yankee-Doodle-don't.

Still, the pair received some positive comments from the judges. Carrie Ann Inaba even told the "Kendra Sells Hollywood" star, "This is the most confident I've ever seen you." The couple came away with an unimpressive low score of 22 — but it was enough to keep them safe for another week.

Hopefully, parents didn't mind explaining what a lap dance was during Janel Parrish's Burlesque number on Season 19 of "Dancing with the Stars." During Week 5, the "Pretty Little Lies" actor partnered with Artem Chigvintsev for the "switch-up" and performed to Jessie J's "Mamma Knows Best."

There's no denying it — Mamma was hot ... and her dance partner was quite the alpha male during the performance. But the sultry dance might have been a little too hot for some. So hot, evidently, that Chigvintsev even danced without a shirt. Parrish herself must have felt a line being crossed because she apologized to her dad the moment she stepped up to the mic.

One of the main issues the judges had was that the dance veered away from the style it should have been. Julianne Hough stated that the true art of the dance relies on the power of suggestion, rather than overt displays of sexuality (via DWM Dance Studios). "Burlesque has a cheekiness and almost a quirkiness and almost a dryness," she said. "That was really raunchy and sexy." Regardless, there was still one judge who loved the performance, with Bruno Tonioli stating, "[It's] never too sexy for me, honey."

The pressure was on for Mike Catherwood during week 2 of "Dancing with the Stars" Season 12. After getting low scores during the first week, Len Goodman warned him, "You've gotta come back and really do a good jive, otherwise, it's the boulevard of broken dreams." Naturally, Catherwood was determined to step up his game and wow the judges, stating during rehearsal, "This week, main motivating factor: Explode Len and Bruno's face with my fiery dance moves."

Dancing the jive to "The Boys are Back in Town" Catherwood didn't exude the confidence he'd hoped for, despite Schwimmer playing the part of an obsessed groupie — complete with a barely-there outfit — to his sexy rock star. But while his goal was fiery, the end result felt choked. What little swagger he showcased made the radio star come across more like an excitable child proudly showing off their latest triumph to their parents. 

Still, the judges gave him some positive nods for his technique with Bruno Tonioli praising his kicks and flicks. However, all the judges seemed to agree that the performance aspect overall was not great, with Len Goodman telling the contestant (via Los Angeles Times), "You were flying about like a wasp at a picnic." Catherwood was visibly disheartened by their low score of 17 and sadly the pair was eliminated.