Julianne Hough Unleashes Criticism on 'DWTS' (VIDEO)
Julianne Hough returned to "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday night as a guest-judge, staying true to her promise to "not hold back."
The actress was formerly a professional dancer on "DWTS" who has won the championship twice. On Monday, April 7, Hough returned to the television series as a guest judge, but she did not let her experience on "DWTS" cloud her judgment.
Monday's "DWTS" marked the first time contestants and their professional dance partners were forced to switch partners, with the episode entitled "The Switch Up." While elimination will not take place until next week, many fans are up in arms about Hough's keen and sometimes harsh criticism; especially since the former "DWTS" pro previously offended dancer Maksim Chmerkovsky during her guest appearance as a judge last year.
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On Monday, Chmerkovsky took to the dance floor with actress Danica Kellar, but before the switch up, he had been paired with Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis. After the performance, Hough unleashed a scathing review.
"I felt like it was a little bit like this week could get you past so that you could be back with Meryl, and you just had to phone it in [with Kellar] so you could get back with Meryl," Hough told Chmerkovsky.
Watch the exchange on YouTube here.
After the comment, "DWTS" fans as well as Chmerkovsky were outraged.
"The [expletive] that Julianne made up was nothing but exactly that," he said later, according to ABC News. "It was an invalid comment that had nothing to do with Danica's performance, which was brilliant."
Fellow "DWTS" pro Cheryl Burke added that Hough's comment was "a little bit inappropriate."
"I felt like [Maksim] was trying his best," she said.
Meanwhile, ahead of Monday's show, Hough explained her stance as a guest-judge on "DWTS."
"I have no idea what I am going to say tonight till I watch the performers," Hough explained to ABC News. "I'm going to critique them the way I critique them when I'm at home on my couch. I'm not going to hold back because of other people. I'm here to give my expertise and be a cheerleader for everybody else on the floor."
