Dancing with the Stars

• July 25, 2005
• Vol. 64
• No. 4

Samba-Gate

Was John O'Hurley Robbed? Was Kelly Monaco That Perfect? A Panel of Dance Instructors Rate the Final Performances on Dancing with the Stars

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From PEOPLE Magazine

When General Hospital's Kelly Monaco and professional dancer Alec Mazo sashayed to victory on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, they defeated the odds-on favorites: Seinfeld alum John O'Hurley and Charlotte Jorgensen. Even more surprising, Monaco and Mazo's seemingly flaw-filled final routine wrangled three perfect 10s out of the judges (the first time that number had been awarded all season). That left many viewers wondering—as one online dance forum put it—"Have the judges lost all their sense[s]!??" In the wake of the controversy, we asked three ballroom-dancing pros to view the performances and weigh in on whether justice had been trampled.

JUDGE #1:
Francesco Flumiani Career highlight: Trained Jennifer Lopez for Shall We Dance? His take on the final dance-off: "The footwork of this woman [Kelly] was very bad. She seemed very heavy to pick up, and the last time he put her down she actually fell. She looked sexy, but not in the dancing." His ultimate judgment: "John should have won."

JUDGE #2:
Gary McDonald Career highlight: Played J.Lo's onscreen dance partner in Shall We Dance? His take on the final dance-off: "If the show was judged the first two weeks, John would've won hands down, but by the last show Kelly's improvement was the biggest out of everybody. What she pulled off is impressive; she had no fear. I don't know how she got 10s, though." His ultimate judgment: "I would have given John an 8 and Kelly a 9."

JUDGE #3:
John Cassese Career highlight: Trained dozens of celebs, including Goldie Hawn and Pamela Anderson. His take on the final dance-off: "I was surprised Kelly got all 10s. She didn't make just one mistake; she made several. She lost her balance at the end, and they didn't even mention it. John's quickstep was excellent." His final judgment: "If I absolutely had to choose, I would have picked John."