Amid DWTS Criticism, Dwight Howard Admits to Dancing Misstep That Went Unnoticed

“Belief and faith,” is the reason behind Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach Pashkova’s chemistry. The duo were the top 2 scorers after previous performances as they scored 44 points from the possible 60. But the latest performance did not meet the set standards and the former Lakers star received criticism from the judges. However, DH12 recently revealed that even the judges failed to pick out a mistake during his performance.

“I decided to improvise during the dance,” said Dwight Howard to the host of the podcast Joe Vulpis. “After the dance, she’s (Pashkova) like I’m really impressed that you improvise during the middle of a dance routine and nobody even noticed. After the show like when we finished the dance, she could not stop laughing.”

Further explaining, the Center expressed that he was supposed to continue a back-and-forth move, but he improvised. “And when I got ready to go back, I misstepped on one of my feet. So instead of doing what I was supposed to do, I just start spinning around and she looks back and she’s like what the and like she starts laughing.” The EMMY-nominated choreographer even commented on the Instagram post about the podcast clip. “I looked over and you were GONE😂😂😂.”

The mistake even created a little confusion for the camera and the production crew for a few seconds. Because of the misstep, Dwight Howard ended up sliding early at the end of the performance, and thus a delay in the confetti pop from the crew. “Since we did it in rehearsal so many times they knew when to pop the confetti, when to like make the lights go and all that stuff. But it was a slight delay in ours,” via the Lightweights podcast. While the judges may have not noticed the misstep, they definitely saw the performance, and what it lacked.

Did the judges forget about Dwight Howard’s mistake?

There is a reason why the 3x DPOY received one of the lowest scores after his performance. Carrie Ann Inaba was blunt with her opinion and did not care about the studio audience’s reaction, who started to boo her for the criticism against Dwight Howard. “I’m gonna do a little real talk. That was hard to watch. I know you can do better than that, and you’re trying to trick us with all the expressions.” 

The other judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and the guest judge Rosie Perez were less harsh than Inaba. But they all advised the 38-year-old to improve his footwork and technique. That’s why 8x All-Star received three 6 and one 5, which made the total 23 out of 40. Other duos Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater (21 points), and Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart (24 points) are also in the danger zone.

Dwight Howard is not taking the challenge lightly and also apologized to Daniella Karagach Pashkova. “Not letting my perfect partner down next time.” The 2020 NBA champion wrote in the video caption of the reel and showcased his training for the upcoming performance. Today, they are set to perform Paso Doble during ‘Hair Metal Night.’ Will they survive this week, or Howard’s latest adventure come to an end? Only time will tell.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”