Things are changing in the ballroom — and the pros are shook. Val Chmerkovskiy, Emma Slater and more are speaking out after Len Goodman announced he is leaving Dancing With the Stars after the season 31 finale.
“[I’m] very surprised. No one knew,” Chmerkovskiy told Us Weekly after the Monday, November 14, episode. “I’m gonna miss the familiarity, I guess. I’ve seen him before the show. He was an adjudicator at the British Open for many years before joining the show. And then even being part of Dancing With the Stars, he’s such an important voice and an important authority and the British accent I think makes every difference. So I’m gonna miss all of that. I think, hopefully, they’ll have his spirit somehow still present. Maybe he could Skype in and do a little Len’s corner or Len’s recap because, yeah, because he’s gonna be missed.”
Slater, for her part, told Page Six that it “caught [her] off guard” when Goodman revealed during Monday’s show that he was exiting to spend more time with his family in Britain.
“It got me in my feels, if I’m honest,” she said. “I didn’t expect to feel as emotional as I was.”
The season 24 champ added that she thinks the show should fill Goodman’s chair with a new judge.
“I also am a big believer in respecting what people have done, but then embracing new personalities and making way for people that would shine just as much,” Slater explained. “So I think [let’s] pave the way for somebody to make Len proud and have the show just embrace somebody new as well.”
When asked whether he would take the gig, Chmerkovskiy, a two-time champ who joined the show as a pro on season 13, told reporters that he’s unsure if it’s the right time for him to take over.
“Yeah, I would love to, I would. I will be completely honest, and I hope I’m not missing my future opportunity, but I still want to dance [right now]. I got the chance to judge Dancing With the Stars: Juniors and I loved the opportunity to talk to kids, inspire them and give them feedback … but that was a huge responsibility,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s different when you’re judging adults, I’m sure it is, but I wasn’t entirely in my groove in that. I wanted to dance, I felt kind of uncomfortable giving critique in such a vulnerable situation. So, I don’t envy that job! I’m not rushing to get there just yet.”
Britt Stewart nominated longtime pro Cheryl Burke.
“Cheryl definitely wants to be a judge and I think that she would be an amazing addition,” she said. “I think that Derek [Hough] is a testament to a past pro becoming a judge. He really has the knowledge and he has the experience of what it’s like to be in our shoes.”
Hough joined the judge’s table when Goodman was forced to take the season off due to COVID-19 protocols in 2020. The former pro remained a judge when Goodman returned for season 30 alongside OGs Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli. (Derek’s sister and fellow former pro Julianne Hough served as a judge from 2014-2017.)
Goodman’s last official episode of DWTS airs on Monday, November 21, with Gabby Windey, Charli D’Amelio, Wayne Brady and Shangela competing for the mirrorball.
Things are changing in the ballroom — and the pros are shook. Val Chmerkovskiy, Emma Slater and more are speaking out after Len Goodman announced he is leaving Dancing With the Stars after the season 31 finale.
“[I’m] very surprised. No one knew,” Chmerkovskiy told Us Weekly after the Monday, November 14, episode. “I’m gonna miss the familiarity, I guess. I’ve seen him before the show. He was an adjudicator at the British Open for many years before joining the show. And then even being part of Dancing With the Stars, he’s such an important voice and an important authority and the British accent I think makes every difference. So I’m gonna miss all of that. I think, hopefully, they’ll have his spirit somehow still present. Maybe he could Skype in and do a little Len’s corner or Len’s recap because, yeah, because he’s gonna be missed.”
Slater, for her part, told Page Six that it “caught [her] off guard” when Goodman revealed during Monday’s show that he was exiting to spend more time with his family in Britain.
“It got me in my feels, if I’m honest,” she said. “I didn’t expect to feel as emotional as I was.”
The season 24 champ added that she thinks the show should fill Goodman’s chair with a new judge.
“I also am a big believer in respecting what people have done, but then embracing new personalities and making way for people that would shine just as much,” Slater explained. “So I think [let’s] pave the way for somebody to make Len proud and have the show just embrace somebody new as well.”
When asked whether he would take the gig, Chmerkovskiy, a two-time champ who joined the show as a pro on season 13, told reporters that he’s unsure if it’s the right time for him to take over.
“Yeah, I would love to, I would. I will be completely honest, and I hope I’m not missing my future opportunity, but I still want to dance [right now]. I got the chance to judge Dancing With the Stars: Juniors and I loved the opportunity to talk to kids, inspire them and give them feedback … but that was a huge responsibility,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s different when you’re judging adults, I’m sure it is, but I wasn’t entirely in my groove in that. I wanted to dance, I felt kind of uncomfortable giving critique in such a vulnerable situation. So, I don’t envy that job! I’m not rushing to get there just yet.”
Britt Stewart nominated longtime pro Cheryl Burke.
“Cheryl definitely wants to be a judge and I think that she would be an amazing addition,” she said. “I think that Derek [Hough] is a testament to a past pro becoming a judge. He really has the knowledge and he has the experience of what it’s like to be in our shoes.”
Hough joined the judge’s table when Goodman was forced to take the season off due to COVID-19 protocols in 2020. The former pro remained a judge when Goodman returned for season 30 alongside OGs Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli. (Derek’s sister and fellow former pro Julianne Hough served as a judge from 2014-2017.)
Goodman’s last official episode of DWTS airs on Monday, November 21, with Gabby Windey, Charli D’Amelio, Wayne Brady and Shangela competing for the mirrorball.
Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
Val Chmerkovskiy
“It feels like a chapter closing,” he told reporters. “I started thinking, like, ‘Well, if this time has flown by so fast for him, it’s flown by so fast for me as well.’ That’s kind of the inevitable reality for all of us. So, it really put me in a place of appreciation and gratitude.”
Credit: ABC/Raymond Liu
Britt Stewart
“[I had] no idea that Len was retiring, but he’s had such a long and amazing career. So we will all miss him, but continue to celebrate him,” she told Us. “And I mean the notorious tough judge — so we’ll see what happens next season. I dunno, we’ll see. But he will be missed. He’s legendary in the ballroom and he’s amazing.”
Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Emma Slater
“I went to every competition that he judged and my parents were elated every time he was on the panel,” Slater recalled. “I remember going up to him as a kid and thanking him for believing in me. 20 years later, I did the same thing tonight … and I cried my eyes out again.”
Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock
Gleb Savchenko
“All of the critiques and all of the little points that he always said to us, we all took on board and we all worked on it because he is the representation of ballroom dance,” he told Page Six and other reporters. “So for him leaving the show, it’s heartbreaking. I got emotional just hearing it. We just all love Len so, so much, and not having him, it’ll be a missing piece.”
