Palin’s ‘Dancing’ Boo-Gate
Dancing With the Stars squashed rumors that Sarah Palin was booed by the audience on Monday’s episode by showing a raw and unedited clip of what actually happened in the ballroom. Apparently the boos were in reaction to the low scores given to first-place couple Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough, and not a political statement against the mama grizzly.
Charles Eshelman, WireImage / Getty Images
Dancing With the Stars squashed rumors that Sarah Palin was booed by the audience on Monday’s episode. Watch their raw clip of what actually drew the jeers.
An end to “boo-gate.” On Monday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, it was unclear whether Sarah Palin was booed when she came to visit and cheer on daughter Bristol. But on Tuesday night’s results episode, ABC (who told The Daily Beast after Monday night’s episode that the crowd was jeering Jennifer Grey’s score) showed footage of the crowd erupting in boos when the judges gave Grey and her partner Derek Hough the rather high score of 24, ending the speculation that the booing was a political statement against the Mama Grizzly. Judge Bruno Tonioli even turned around to chastise the audience, saying “What’s the matter, you?” Carrie Ann Inaba answered, “They are yelling at us!”
Palin's 'Dancing' Boo-Gate Put to Rest
When Bristol’s Mama Grizzly was introduced immediately afterward, the crowd erupted into huge cheers. Co-host Tom Bergeron even joked that Palin had told him she was surprised at “boo-gate” (dubbed by Bergeron) because she, too, had joined the crowd in booing the judges.
Palin and daughter Piper were on hand for the results episode where Bristol did so well she was spared from having to wait the entire show to find out her fate. Mid-episode she and partner Mark Ballas were told that their Quickstep got them a place in next week’s show.
They did another interview with the former Alaska governor and she admitted that waiting for the results was “nerve wracking,” but “Bristol the pistol” gave another stellar performance and Ballas announced that his partner just “unleaded her ammunition.”
It’s clear they are one of the judges’ favorite couples. Next week they’ll have to “tell a story with their dances.” Maybe an Alaskan story?
Watch the moment that will live on in Boo-Gate infamy.
Shushannah Walshe covers politics for The Daily Beast. She is the co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar. She was a reporter and producer at the Fox News Channel from August 2001 until the end of the 2008 presidential campaign.
