After the first-ever “Disney100” night, which was truly an evening to remember, the remaining duos on season 32 of Dancing With The Stars kicked it up a notch for “Most Memorable Year” night, tugging on the heartstrings of each and every viewer. Featuring the first 10s of the season, gut-wrenching dances, and a tear-jerking tribute to late judge Len Goodman, the episode was exceptional!
While the remaining celebrities danced to smash hits from the year that they declared to be the most notable in their life so far, resulting in the shocking elimination of Mira Sorvino and Gleb Savchenko, the professionals (plus quite a few special guests) put on a performance that viewers will simply never ever forget.
Former head judge Len Goodman passed away in April of 2023, so to honor his life and his illustrious career, married couple Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson choreographed a group number set to “Moon River” by Henry Mancini, that was unlike anything fans have seen in the history of the beloved competition series.
Bringing together a wide range of individuals for the one-of-a-kind moment, all of the season 32 pros were a part of the dance, as well as judge Derek Hough and host Julianne Hough, in addition to quite a few familiar faces…
Legendary pros from past seasons of Dancing With The Stars returned to the ballroom for the tribute, including Kym Johnson, Anna Trebunskaya, Karina Smirnoff, Edyta Sliwinska, Tony Dovolani, Louis van Amstel, Maks Chmerkovskiy, and Mark Ballas. However, quite a few individuals were missing from the performance; Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Lindsay Arnold, and more.
One of the most notable was the one and only Sharna Burgess, a former pro who has even taken home the coveted Mirrorball trophy in the past. After being excluded from season 32 altogether, she was equally as furious that she was excluded from Goodman’s tribute as well.
While the Australia native remained quiet on social media, her fiancé and former dance partner, Brian Austin Green, put it all on the line, garnering quite a bit of backlash from Dancing With The Stars fans across the country in the process.
“I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I was for @sharnaburgess to not be invited for the tribute last night. It’s disappointing as well that none of her ‘family in the ballroom’ stuck up for her or spoke out. She’s an incredible soul and has always been a friend to everyone. She deserved better,” he wrote in a controversial Instagram post that’s since been deleted, with a caption that escalated the situation even further.
The caption reads, “She wasn’t even invited to sit in the stands and watch. Shame on that group of people. Kindness is an action, and so is love ❤️ @cherylburke should have been there as well.”
Burke also expressed her disappointment after being excluded from Len Goodman’s tribute, taking to both TikTok and Instagram Threads to share her true thoughts earlier in the week.
Nonetheless, fans were not thrilled with Green’s post, accusing him of being selfish and taking away from what the moment was really all about — celebrating Len Goodman’s life and illustrious career.
“This was about LEN not who got left out of the night,” one user wrote, garnering 129 likes on their comment.
“I’m sorry — I’m confused — was this a tribute to this man’s life or a display of some DWTS cliche? Whining about not being invited on a show is not the classiest way to honor someone, but my opinion means fack all. It’s just not a good look,” another shared.
“Well Sharna and Cheryl are going on a let’s bash DWTS tour… It’s not a good look. Stop pointing fingers at everyone else. Lindsay was in the audience and isn’t getting her panties in a bunch because she wasn’t a part of it. Pick your battles wisely,” dished a third, referencing the women’s respective podcasts, Old-Ish and Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans, that continuously talk negatively about the franchise – yikes!
With the drama aside, be sure to catch new episodes of Dancing With The Stars every Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm ET/PT on both ABC and Disney Plus, with next-day streaming on Hulu.
