Jordan Chiles Fans Call Out ‘Unfair’ Scoring at DWTS During Her Debut With Ezra Sosa

“If I wasn’t an athlete, I would definitely be in the dance music area of things,” said Jordan Chiles after her name was announced for the 34th season of Dancing With The Stars. The Olympic gold medalist was elated by the opportunity and promised to bring “a lot of sass” to the popular reality show. But as the curtains dropped on the opening night, fans couldn’t believe how the UCLA gymnast didn’t get to post big numbers on the scoreboard.

Chiles and her DWTS partner, Ezra Sosa, took to the floor as the first team on Tuesday. They danced their hearts out to Beyoncé’s Break My Soul in a spectacular salsa routine. Their jaw-dropping performance was lauded in a post on X by the official Dancing With The Stars on September 16, with the caption, “No souls were broken here, just Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa slaying that Salsa.” However, as it turned out, the judges weren’t all that impressed.

Derek Hough, one of the scorers for this year’s DWTS, though admitting that Chiles’ “flips and tricks” were mesmerizing, awarded the team 5 points. Bruno Tonioli, the other judge, also scored Chiles and Sosa 5 points. With a total of 10 points, the Olympian gymnast finished the night with the second-lowest score. But it could be up for debate as to how Carrie Ann Inaba, the third judge for this year’s DWTS, would have scored the pair.

Chiles, who is the eighth Olympic gold medalist gymnast to reach the DWTS stage after the likes of national teammate Simone Biles and Suni Lee, was, on the other hand, pretty stoked by her and Sosa’s performance. “She probably would have been just very proud,” she said after the routine, noting how the pop icon would have loved Chiles’ rendition of the former’s famous tune. She also had to admit that she didn’t find her DWTS debut to be very different from representing the Stars and Stripes on the gymnastic floor.

“It’s like doing a floor routine, but just in heels and having a dance partner,” Jordan Chiles grinned afterward. “I had the opportunity just to, like, let loose, smile more, laugh, stick my tongue out, do different things,” she further elaborated on how teaming up with Sosa for the TV show gave her the opportunity to let her hair down and just soak in the theatrics. Chiles also mentioned that the judges’ scoring was something she saw as a stepping stone to elevate herself to a higher standard.

“The fact that they were critical, that’s a good thing in my eyes, because they definitely see something in us. The potential…we’re going to take their criticism and apply it,” the 24-year-old said. However, the fans weren’t on the same page with the gymnastics sensation on the matter. 

Fans give DWTS a piece of their minds over Jordan Chiles’ score

“Absolutely unfair and ridiculous scoring. The judges need to start watching the dance and stop biases,” one fan wasn’t going to spare the DWTS crew any quarter for giving Chiles a hard time for her salsa routine. The emotions aren’t entirely misplaced, to be honest. After the Paris Olympics last year, the Oregon native had to walk through hellfire once again, as the Olympic association directed her to return her individual bronze medal following a time-related inquiry issue. Obviously, fans believe Chiles deserves a break.

Naturally, with the DWTS deciding to keep the pressure on Jordan and Ezra, the fans were left fuming. “yall absolutely robbed her w those scores,” one fan was visibly aghast by how Derek and Tonioli didn’t care to throw enough laurels Chiles’ way. “Ridiculous,” vented another fan. With Chiles hoping to turn a new leaf in her life by going back to college and competing for the Bruins, fans seemed to think that DWTS could have been a little harsh on Simone Biles’ BFF.

But that hope didn’t pan out, and fans were justifiably livid. “The 2 judges scored her way too low,” stated one fan without holding back, while another bellowed: “IN WHAT WORLD DO YOU SAY THIS WHEN SHE GOT 2 5’s?!” What about you? What did you think of the scoring? Share your opinion of Jordan Chiles’ routine in the comments.